Untitled
by NYC2016
Summary: Yes, this is another, 'girl pops up in Sam and Dean's world and fights with them through every season' type thing. Just a little different. Starts in Season 4.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: New Story! It's my first time writing a Supernatural FF. Bear with me!

**Chapter One**

**Ella**

"Hey, are you okay?" I hear a husky, rough, male voice ask. I don't realize he's talking to me till he repeats himself. I open my eyes and the sun momentarily blinds me. When my eyes focus, I see green eyes, blonde hair, and a dirty face. Dirty face? Why is his face dirty?

"Why is your face dirty?" I recognize the man. Where have I seen him before?

"I just woke up from the dead."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?"

"That's what I want to know about you." His voice is husky and dry. He needs water.

"Ella. Ella Jackson."

"Dean."

"As in Winchester?" I knew I knew him from somewhere. I knew his father, John. He's shocked and is immediately defensive. "Sorry. I'm an open book and I couldn't help but remember you from somewhere. I know John." He doesn't trust me and is in a sour mood since I brought up his father. "Let's find someone who will give us a ride to the nearest gas station. You need some water for your throat." He doesn't nod or say anything. He just gets up and starts walking. I trail behind him, but feel unwelcome, like I'm intruding.

I didn't know I was going to be here. I was in my room painting my finger nails for a date night with my dad and I was here when I woke up. I'm not sure how I blacked out.

* * *

After a while we get a ride from an old sleeze and Dean makes me sit in the backseat away from the sleeze. At least Dean knows how to respect a woman.

The man pulls over once we cross state lines and says there's a convenience store soon. It's the middle of no-where and we walk to it. It's empty and he takes his shirt, puts it over his hand and forearm and punches the glass to open the door. It works. He goes in and goes straight for the water. He drinks half a bottle immediately and then tosses me one. I catch it and drink some. He gets snacks and looks at a some porn magazines. I don't want to know which ones. I don't particularly care.

He looks in the mirror in the bathroom and lifts his shirt. I see a hand print on his arm and refrain from gasping. His mind must be racing right now.

He takes money out of the register. And if karma is being a bitch and telling us that it's not cool to steal, the TV turns on by itself. I turn it off and give Dean a weird look. He reciprocated the look. The TV turns itself back on and the radio does too. It's weird and they won't turn off. Dean grabs salt and lines the doors and windows. Then this ear piercing noise starts. The windows start exploding and Dean covers me, so I don't get cut up by the flying glass, behind the counter.

It stops and I turn to Dean. "What the hell was that?" He asks.

"I have no idea. Let's get out of here." I say and we walk out and Dean spots an old abandon car. He hot wires the car and we start driving.

He explains that we are going to Bobby's house. I ask who Bobby is and he responds with, 'the only man who is the closest thing to a father right now.' I was confused. Didn't Dean have an alright relationship with John?

* * *

We get there the next day and Bobby answers the door.

"Surprise," Dean says, happy that he's with Bobby. Bobby stutters and Dean says, "me neither, but here I am," and walks in. Bobby and Dean immediately go at it. Bobby trying to kill Dean because he thinks he's, well not Dean, don't know why he wouldn't other than the fact that Dean just came back from the dead. "Bobby! Bobby, it's me!"

"My ass."

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer, you became a hunter after your wife got possessed, you're about the closest thing I have to a father." Hunter? Possessed? I guess I really need to do some catching up on the Winchesters. "Bobby, it's me." Bobby slowly walks up to Dean and touches his shoulder, then tries to attack again with a silver knife. "I'm not a shapeshifter."

"Then you're a revenant." Dean proves that he isn't either by cutting his arm with the silver knife. "Dean?" Bobby says.

"That's what I've been trying to tell ya." Bobby embraces Dean in a hug and Dean hugs back.

"How did you bust out?"

"I don't know. I just woke up in a pine bo..." then water is splashed in his face. "Not a demon either."

"Sorry, can't be too careful. Who's she?"

"She was laying on the ground unconscious when I crawled my way out of the ground." I walk up and introduce myself.

"Ella Jackson. Pleased to meet you." I shake his hand and he's confused. "Now can y'all tell me what the hell is going on? I am so confused."

"Where are you from?"

"Not Sioux Falls. I was born in Louisiana, stayed till I was five, moved to southern Kansas. I'm twenty-six."

"Alright, we will tell you a brief story," Bobby says. Dean looks like he wants to keep me in the dark a little bit longer but too bad for him. Bobby explains the job him and the boys do. Oh yeah, Dean does have a little brother around my age, I remember that.

"Sam's numbers not workin'." Dean says after Bobby tells me a brief story and I let it all sink in.

"Well, he's alive as far as I know."

Dean is relieved. "Good." He walks around to the side of the desk Bobby is sitting at and says, "wait, what do you mean as far as you know?"

"I haven't talked to him for months."

"You're kidding. You just let him go off by himself?"

"He was dead set on it." Bobby gets up and starts to walk around.

"Bobby, you should of been lookin' after him."

"I tried," he says turning to Dean. "These last month haven't been exactly easy you know? For him or me. We had to bury you."

"Why did you bury me anyway?"

"I wanted you salted and burned, the usual drill, but Sam wouldn't have it."

"Well, I'm glad he won that one."

"Said, you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow. That's about all he said. He was quiet, real quiet. Then, he just took off. Wouldn't return my calls. I tried to find him, but he don't wanna be found." Dean is stressed and pissed and sits down at the computer.

"He did get me home alright. Whatever it is, is bad mojo. You should have seen the gravesite."

"Looked like a nuke went off," I say. Dean nods. "Then there was this force, this presence, we don't know. But it blew past us at a uh, Phillip joint."

"And then this." Dean takes his jacket off and rolls his sleeve up, exposing the hand print. I can't help but to gasp this time. It looks so painful. Bobby is defensive.

"What in the hell?"

"Looks like a demon just yanked me out or rode me out. I don't know."

"You think Sam made a deal?"

"It's what I would have done." Dean tracks Sam's phone while Bobby and I talk in the kitchen.

"Why did he bring me here?" I ask him.

"I'm not sure. Why were you at the gravesite?"

"Not sure. I was painting my finger nails getting ready for a dinner date with my dad and next thing I know, I'm waking up in the middle of nowhere, a thousand miles away from home."

"So you teleported?"

"I guess. Unless I'm an episode of Fringe and this is a different dimension, but I remember meeting John Winchester when I was younger. I thought he was just a friend of the family. I didn't grow up with this hunting thing. I knew little bits and pieces but I thought it was all pretend, to help me fall asleep at night."

"Well, it's not. It's all real."

"Sam's in Pontiac, Illinois. Right where I popped up and found El. Hell of a coincidence, don't ya think?"

* * *

We get to the Astoria Hotel in Pontiac and walk to room 207, Sam's room. Maybe I'll remember Sam. A girl opens the door and asks about pizza.

"It takes three people to deliver?"

"I think we have the wrong room," Dean says. He's about to apologize, when a tall man with dark long hair walks into the open. He stops midstep and sees us three. "Hey ya Sammy." Dean walks in and Sam attacks him. Bobby controls Sam and convinces him it's really Dean. "I know, I look fantastic, huh?" I stand next to the girl who's in her underwear and a tank top by the door letting the boys have their moment. Sam and Dean embrace.

"So are you two, like together?" The girl next to me asks.

"What? No, no. He's my brother."

"Oh, got it. I guess, look I should probably go."

"Yeah, yeah, that's probably a good idea. Sorry." Sam escorts her out when she gets dressed, get's her name wrong, and doesn't really promise to call her. Idiot. He turns to Bobby, Dean, and I and looks at me. "Ella?"

"You actually recognize me?"

"Of course. I've always been good with faces." I stand from the leopard print couch, which is very tacky by the way, and hug him. "How are you? I haven't seen you since we were what? Eight?"

"I think so. But I'm good. Little confused. Talk to Dean, though. It'll make more sense if he tells the story." Dean tells the story, Bobby tells us there's a psych out there who will help us with finding out what brought Dean out of hell, we leave the next day.

* * *

It's a bust. The psych, Pamela, she's blind now. She didn't get to help me figure out why I'm here or help Dean. Though Dean was somewhat glad because he got his 1967, black, Chevy Impala, four-door, hard top back and he was driving it. We stop at a diner, and I encounter my first demon. It was nerve wracking but I was on the inside of the booth, protected by Dean.

On our way back to the hotel Sam if staying at, I start to ask some questions.

"So, I'm not asking for your life's story, but can you tell me why you two when into hunting?"

Sam answers instead of Dean. "Our dad forced us into it. I left for a while, went to college, but now I'm back."

"What made you start hunting again?"

"We were looking for our dad. Found him." I could tell it's a hard subject so I let it go till they feel comfortable telling me.

"Alright, can I call my dad?"

"No," Dean answers.

"And why not?"

"Because, what are you going to say to him when he answers worried out of his mind, looking for you. You won't know and you can't just blurt out what you know."

"Can't I at least just tell him I'm safe and that he should quit looking?" He doesn't respond. Sam looks at me in the mirror and nods slightly. I'm glad.

* * *

When we get back to the hotel, Dean falls asleep reading and Sam let's me call my dad.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Daddy? It's me."

"Oh, Ella. Thank God. Where have you been? I've been worried sick."

"I'm alright, Daddy. I just wanted to tell you I'm alright. I left town for a few days. I don't know how long I'll be gone. It was an emergency and I'll call you back in a few days to a week."

"But Ella, where are you?"

"I can't tell you Dad. I'm sorry. Don't call this number please. It's not my phone, it's an acquaintance's. I love you." I hang up and give Sam's phone back to him. "Thank you."

"At least you put his mind at ease."

"I sure hope so. Or else, that was a waste of a call." I sit on the same couch as Dean, just different side and fall asleep myself.

* * *

I wake when I hear the TV and radio on at the same time. Dean does too. He puts the book down and rolls past me, grabbing his shotgun and standing, ready for anything. The ear piercing noise get's so loud that Dean, drops his gun and the ceiling ruptures. I cover myself just as the windows break and the ceiling drops on top of me, Dean moves out of the way just in time. I groan in pain as it lands on me.

Bobby comes in and shouts at us to get out and I can't move. The noise stops and Dean scrambles to get up. His ears are bleeding and he has cuts every where, but that doesn't stop him. He gets to me and carries me out of the room, Bobby follows. He sets me down in the hall and examines me.

"Are you okay?" Dean asks.

"Peachy." I try to move and I can, it's just very painful. There are shards that are cut very deep in my arms but I covered myself well enough that the glass did not hit major arteries or veins. "Oh, no. I'm not okay. It hurts really bad." He guide me to the elevator and we get in. We go to the car and Dean get's the glass shards out of my arms and legs. I'm bleeding every where, but I can manage.

* * *

Bobby, Dean, and I leave to encounter this thing once and for all. Bobby summons the mysterious thing after Dean, but it doesn't immediately come. It takes a while then we heard the rafters on the barn roof move around and the doors slid open and in walks this normal looking guy.

"Plug your ears," Dean says. I do and his and Bobby shoot at the man. "Who are you?" Dean asks, picking up a knife as the man walks to his side.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Dean stabs him and nothing happens. The man get's a little irritated. He pulls it out and drops it. Bobby tries to attack but the man makes him fall unconscious.

"We need to talk Dean," The man says. "alone."

"Who are you?"

"Castiel."

"Yeah, I figured that much. I mean, what are you?"

"I'm an angel of the lord."

"Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing."

"This is your problem Dean. You have no faith." Lightning strikes several times and the light illuminates giant wings on the back wall and ceiling behind Castiel. It soon stops and he turns to me. "And you are Ella." I moves to place his hand on my head.

I bend back. "No. Don't touch me." He ignores what I say and presses two fingers to my forehead.

"Is that better?" I don't feel pain any longer. I look at my body and I don't see any scratches. I nod.

"Thank you." I say.

Dean is still upset. "Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes."

"I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be overwhelming to humans. So can my real voice. You two already knew that." Castiel's eyes are still on my body.

"You mean the gas station and the motel?" I ask. Castiel nods. "That was you talking to us?" He nods once more. "Buddy, next time lower the volume. Too loud." I look over and see Dean slightly smirking.

"It was my mistake." He turns to Dean as he apologizes. "Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you two might be a couple of them." Castiel looks back to me. "I was wrong."

"What visage are you in now huh? Holy tax accountant?" Dean says being a smart ass. I chuckle.

"This? This is a vessel."

"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Castiel looks back to Dean.

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this."

"Look pal, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really?"

Castiel is confused now. "I told you."

"And why would an angel rescue me from hell? Or put her here in the middle of this drama."

"Good things do happen, Dean. What's the matter?" Castiel looks at Dean intently. "You don't think you deserve to be saved."

"Why did you do it? Why bring him back?" I ask.

"Because God commanded it. He commanded I bring you here also." I'm confused and scared. "Because we have work for both of you." Then the angel is gone and it's just Dean and I standing over Bobby's unconscious body.

"Are you okay?" Dean asks. I nod.

"I don't have anymore injuries. He healed them all."

"Well I don't believe him just yet."

"I wouldn't either. But I don't hurt any more so that has to count for something." He shrugs and bends to get Bobby. "Need any help wakin' him up?"

"No. I'm sure he will soon. We just have to be patient."

When Bobby does wake up, we go back to the motel, Dean drives this time, but I'm still in the back. I'm sure I'll be in the back of the car for a long time while I'm with the Winchesters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Ella**

I sit in a chair next to Bobby's desk with Bobby in his desk in the den in Bobby's home while Dean fills in Sam on what happened with Castiel, the angel, in the kitchen. Bobby is having me read up on this angel crap that Dean and Sam are fighting about. I play with the ends of my red-brown hair that reaches my hips. I cut my hair to be right under the ear back in the summer before sixth grade when I was ten. I've been growing it and trimming an inch or less every few months so it would grow back to it original length. It took sixteen years but I did it. Which seems ridiculous I know, especially because I'm five feet four inches.

"Don't you think that if angels were real, some hunter out there somewhere would have seen one?" Dean says, denying the fact that he and I met an angel. "At some point. Ever."

"Yeah, you and Ella just did, Dean."

"I'm tryin' to come up with a theory here, work with me."

"Are they always like that?" I ask Bobby, looking up from the book I'm reading.

"Every day. Good luck traveling with them."

"Can't I just stay here with you? Or I know, go home to my dad?" Bobby shakes his head. "So I have to go with them?"

"They found you. They take care of you. You're lucky they remembered to get you clothes and the bare necessities."

"Thanks."

He smirks and says, "you two knuckleheads want to keep arguing religion, then come take a look at this." They come over. "I got stacks of lore, biblical, non-biblical. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit."

"What else could do it?"

"Lift your ass out of the hot box, as far as we can tell, nothing." Dean is trying to process this, yet he's still denying it was an angel.

"Dean this is good news. Because for one, this isn't just another round of demon crap. I mean maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know."

"Say it's true, say there are angels. Then what? There's a God?"

"At this point," I start, "the biggest money is on, yeah." Dean shakes his head and starts to pace. I get up and go outside when Sam says something Dean doesn't like. I sit on the stairs of the back stoop and wait till there isn't any yelling. Luckily only a few sentences are thrown back and forth. It's quiet for a while and I'm glad. The boys don't need to fight.

I hear footsteps coming toward the back door. It opens and big boots stomp their way down the three steps of the stoop. Dean sits next to me.

"You don't like fightin', do ya?"

"Not particularly. Leads to worse things that can be avoided for the most part." I stare straight ahead, not wanting Dean to see my eyes and know everything.

"If you're going to be traveling with Sam and I, get used to it."

"I'll just leave the room or tell you two to shut up and that y'all are bein' stupid." He chuckles.

"We'll need it. We're so stubborn, it's a wonder how he and I travel together every day. We spend eight hours a day, seven days a week with each other in a car. It get's smelly, it get's rowdy, it get's loud and quiet. And when we aren't in a car, we are in a motel room or a diner together. Rarely do we get alone time. Even when we are in the bathroom we are still in the same establishment together."

"I understand why y'all fight. I just don't get why you don't come to agreements or at least a solid conclusion."

"Does anyone really ever come to a solid conclusion?"

"I guess not." I hear footsteps again.

"Guys," Bobby says. "Olivia Lowery, hunter one state over. Hasn't been returnin' my calls we need to find her."

"How long have you been callin'?" I ask.

"Three days. It's not like her to not return this many calls. Help me get ready. You two and Sam will follow me there when Sam gets back." He leaves. Dean gets up and holds his hand out to me. I take it and stand up.

"Where's Sam?"

"Gettin' me some pie." I smile. Boys and their treats.

* * *

We get to Olivia's home a few hours later and I stay in the car for fear that there might be something in there and I could get hurt since I'm not trained properly. They come out to the car and when they get it, the door slam shut.

"What's wrong?"

"Olivia's dead," Sam tells me. "Ghost. We are going to check on a friend a few towns over." I nod and we leave.

The friend they said they were going to check on, well he's dead too.

"We going back to Bobby's?" I ask. They nod. I fall asleep on the way back. The thing that wakes me up, a gun shot. I sit up and realize that I'm in the car alone and there was a gun shot. I don't see anyone around the car, till the gas station catches my eye. Sam and Dean run out and get in the car quickly. we take off. "What is going on?"

"Ghosts are killin' hunters," Dean says. "But don't worry, they won't kill you. You're not a hunter, or have you ever let anyone die like we have. I suppose we should tell you what happened." They explain that an FBI agent was killed along with a dozen other people in a police station eight months ago, by a demon named Lilith. Who the hell came up with the name Lilith? It's a shit name.

* * *

They go inside when we get there the next day and I stay outside, for fear that a lot of ghosts are going to be coming after them. I do stay outside for the most part, till Dean comes out and takes me out of the car.

"What are you doing?"

"Takin' you to a safe place. Absolutely monster, demon, and ghost proof." He opens the iron door and I see Sam and Bobby. "Everyone is here and safe."

"Ellie, you can read this," Bobby says, handing me a book. "You might as well get used to the lore now, since you're with us."

"About that, can I ever go home?"

"Not now. You'll be paranoid and you might spill the secret of monsters," Sam says. "Besides, you'll have to lie about where you were and you wont be able to lie to your father. It's just not a good idea."

"Alright, thank you for being honest with me." It's silent for a while, till Dean speaks up.

"See this is why I can't get behind God, if he doesn't exist, fine bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is," he says turning to Bobby and I. "No rhyme or reason, just random, horrible, evil things, I get it. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are gettin' torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? Why doesn't he help?" He makes a good point. I'm not religious but now that this God crap is surfacing, it's making more sense, but it's obviously corrupt. Dean speaks up again. "Why did he save me? Why did he put Ella next to where I popped up? She doesn't deserve this life," he says to Sam. "We have a crap life, her's was good. Not filled with training and hell and death and monsters. Especially not the monsters."

"Found it," Bobby says. "The symbol you saw," what symbol? "the brand on the ghosts, Mark of the Witness."

"Witness? Witness to what?" Sam says.

"The unnatural. None of them died, what you call ordinary deaths. See these ghosts, they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They're like rabid dogs, it aint their fault. Someone rose 'em on purpose."

"Who?" I ask.

Bobby shrugs. "Do I look like I know? But who ever it was, used a spell so powerful it left a mark. A brand on their souls. Whoever did this had big plans. It's called The Rising of the Witnesses. It figures into an ancient prophecy."

"Wait, wait, wait," Dean says getting up and walking over with Sam. "What book is that prophecy from?"

"Well the widely distributed version is just for tourists, you know, but uh long story short, Revelations." It makes sense. "This is a sign boys and Ella. A sign of the apocalypse."

"The apocalypse?" I ask.

"As in apocalypse, apocalypse? Four horse men, pestilence, five-dollar a gallon gas apocalypse?"

"That's the one. The Rise of the Witnesses is a uh, mile marker."

"What do we do now?" Sam asks.

"Road trip. Star-Trek experience." Dean claps as if he's thought of something perfect. "Bunny ranch."

"First things first how about we survive our friends out there. There's a spell, to send the witnesses back to rest. Should work."

"Should?" Sam chuckles half-heartedly. "Great."

"If I translated correctly, I think I've got everything we need here at the house."

"Any chance you've got everything we need here in this room?" I ask.

"What makes you think you'll be going with us?" Dean asks. "I want you in here safe, where no one will hurt you."

"Dean, nothing will be after me, I can go get the stuff y'all need and toss it to ya. They won't come after me."

"Yes they will, they'll go after to you to spite us and because you're helping. Stop and think, Ella. Do you really think that going out there with us, when you're not properly trained, when you're at risk, is really a smart thing to do? Screw helping us, help yourself. Don't get yourself hurt Ella. Be smart. I'll lock you in here if I have to. We need you safe so we don't get worried about you and get ourselves injured or killed." I nod.

"Fine, I'll stay."

"Yes you will."

"I just don't want y'all to get hurt. If you do, I know first-aid and how to stitch people up without it hurting too bad. Get your asses down here and I'll fix you up."

"We will need to do this over an open flame."

"The fireplace in the library," Sam says.

"Bingo. Let's get stocked and we will go."

"Are you sure you three don't need help with anything? I could help." Sam shakes his head.

"We've got it."

* * *

Not even two minutes later I hear crashing and banging and gun shots. How can they stand hearing the gun shots, or posing as cops, whether it be FBI or Homeland Security. They're crazy. The door to the panic room is slightly ajar and I see something moving. I get nervous and I run and try to close it. It's too heavy for me. Wow, I do need to lift some weights.

I put my feet at the edge of the room, the door above my feet, and pull. It won't budge. Now, I know I'm not that strong but come on, it can't be so heavy that I can't move it. Sam and Dean and Bobby can all move it just fine. This time, I push it open and it pushes with ease.

"Hello Ella," a girl with short blonde hair says.

"Who are you?"

"Oh the Winchester boys didn't tell you about me? I'm Meg. They had me thrown off a building and then they tortured me. Talk about nice guys." She takes a step closer to me. I take a step back. "They murdered me, two times. They think they're heros because they save people. What about me? My little sister killed herself after she saw me in the morgue!" Meg yells at me. "You're a little sister. Don't you worship your older brother? He protected you in high school when the boys would try stuff, right? That's how I was with my little sister, she worshiped the ground I walked on, she wanted to be just like me. And now look at her, she's dead!"

"Meg, I'm sorry for your loss. What does this have to do with me?"

"It doesn't. I'm just going to show the Winchester's that their little girl is going to suffer just like my little sister did." I don't know how she does it but I'm dragged to the doorway and I'm leaning out. She grabs my throat and hauls me over the edge of the room. Meg drops me and I scream as she plunges her fist into my chest. How is this possible? I thought she was a ghost.

I see a swipe of something metal in front of me and I drop to the floor once she's disappeared.

"Are you okay?" I hear Sam ask me. I nod. He picks me up and places me on the bed in the panic room. "I have to go, the door will be shut, don't move till I come back." I nod and he leaves again. I lay on my back on the bed and I think of the positive things. Things like my dad, Dean's Impala, which is my dream car, I can't believe he has one. I've wanted one since I was fourteen.

I take slow breaths to ease the pain. It doesn't hurt much anymore, but it's sore.

Ten minutes to fifteen minutes later, Sam walks in and I ask, "is it finished?"

He nods. "How are you," he asks.

"Better, it's just sore now. How are you three? It sounded pretty rough out there. Anyone need sutures?"

"Nope. Just a couple scrapes and bruises."

"I'm glad no one got seriously injured. It was bad enough listening to it. I just want everyone to be safe, even though I don't know you three very well."

"We've only ever met once. It's normal."

I nod. "Thanks for getting me clothes, and hauling me around with you guys. You really don't have to, but you are and that's nice. I appreciate it."

"Course, you're already becoming part of the family, at least, I think so. I've known for forever and you get along with us all. You know when Dean's mad, and that took me ten years to figure out, it took you ten days."

"I'm not wonder woman. I just understand guys. I know when to drop a conversation and I know how to keep it going. I get why you two don't want to take me home, but what would you do if I just took the next bus out of here and back to Coffeyville?"

"I would let you go, Dean on the other hand, he'd keep tabs on you. He'd make sure you were okay, he'd make sure you had our numbers in your phone so if anything comes your way, we would come and help. Dean is already protective of you." I smirk.

"What's wrong with his relationship with John. I thought he looked up to him and wanted to be just like him."

"Dad died two years ago. He doesn't like to talk about it. I found him, but Dean took it the hardest."

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind and I won't ask about John." We sit in silence for about a minute before Sam speaks up again.

"Come on, let's go upstairs. I'm sure Dean is pacing trying to figure out if you're okay or not."

"You told him?"

"Of course I did. I can't keep anything from him. I swear he knows what I'm thinking all the time. And like I said, he's protective of you, it's kind of nice when it's not all directed toward you. He's been protecting me his entire life, now he's protecting you too. He's like a worried mother." I laugh.

"Alright, let's go upstairs." We walk up the steps and I see Bobby cleaning the salt up from the hard wood floors. "Bobby, let me do that. You've just had to fight off several ghosts, it's the least I can do."

"No, I've got it."

"Bobby, sit down, now. I won't tell you again." He sighs and hands the broom to me. "Thank you."

"Damn women," he mutters.

"I heard that Bobby Singer." He chuckles quietly to himself. I clean up th mess and when I throw the salt away, I ask where Dean is.

"Outside, drinkin' a beer." I nod and go out the back door. He's on the bottom step of the stoop, drinking his beer.

"Hey," I say sitting behind him. I reach out and start massaging his shoulders. I figured we've gotten to know each other well enough to where, this isn't weird. "How are you?"

"Better now that your fingers are on me."

"You dirty man." He laughs and takes a sip of his beer.

"No but seriously, magic hands. I already feel the tension of the day disappearing."

"Good. How brutal was it up here?"

"Very. What about you? I heard you had a ghost hand in your chest."

"That was painfully awkward. It wasn't even between my breasts, it was right inside the left one and it was that girl Meg." He get's quiet, not even attempting to make a joke about two girls. "Hey, it's okay, Dean. You didn't kill that girl and her sister. It was that demon, okay? Don't beat yourself up over it."

"But Ella, it was me. I was the one who pushed her out of that window and I was the one that tortured her. I also exorcised the demon out of her. It really was my fault."

"No Dean. That could have been another person with no family. You did the right thing sending that demon to hell. That easily could have been someone else. She could of even killed herself when she was free of the demon. It was that demon's fault, not your's. She could have picked a different human and it would have come out the same way." He sighs and leans back against my knees.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me feel better," Dean says. "You know, once Sam told me Meg attacked you, I got worried. The only people I get worried about is Sam and Bobby. Now you've woken up in this place and I've started worrying about you too. At least with Sam and Bobby I split my worries evenly, now I have another person to worry about. I didn't think that Meg was going to attack you. We thought she would only terrorize us, because we got her killed."

"Dean," I say pulling myself away from his back. I stand and go to his side. "Before she, well plunged her fist into my thoracic cavity, she said that she was going to show you two that your little girl is going to suffer just her little sister did. That little girl, being me."

"Damn it, Ella, I'm sorry." The backs of his fingers run over my cheek. I smile.

"It's fine, really. No pain, no bruise or anything. I'm going to have to get used to fighting monsters, right? I'm alright Dean." I take his hand away from my cheek and place it back in his lap. "Come on, let's go inside."

* * *

"No, Ella take the couch, I'll sleep on the floor with Dean."

"Sam, no take the couch. I'm a guest in this house, I should sleep on the floor."

"Being a guest ultimately means we treat you better so you sleep on the couch. I'll be with Dean."

"Honestly, Sam. I think I'll feel a little bit better and safer if I was sleeping on the floor with Dean. If it was Dean arguing with me about sleeping on the couch, I'd say the same thing about you. I would just feel safer sleeping next to someone." He sighs, giving in. "Thank you Sam. Really, I appreciate it."

"I just want you to feel safe with us. We will protect you." I smile and stand on my tiptoes just to hug him. I don't have to do that with most people but he is a foot taller than me.

As we are getting ready for bed, I get my blankets and pillow and lay them out on the floor. My sweats that I got from camp when I was a counselor in high school and a tank top are already on and I'm ready for bed. I lay down on my stomach with a book and as I'm reading, Dean comes in the room still dressed in his day clothes with Sam.

"What are you doing on the floor? Get on the couch," Dean says. "Did you offer the couch Sammy?"

"She wouldn't touch it. She says she would feel more comfortable and safer if she was sleeping next to one of us and the biggest 'bed' per se is the floor which just so happens to be where you are sleeping. I offered her the couch, but she refused." Dean looks at me and I blush, looking back at my book. "You just want her to feel safe, right?" I don't know what Dean does, but I think he nods. Sam walks around me and lays down. Dean lays on his bed on the floor, looks at me and winks. I roll my eyes and close the book, turning on my side to fall asleep.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, I wake up facing Dean. He's awake as well. I see someone over his shoulder and I point slightly. He turns and I see the person better. It's Castiel. We get up and walk over.

"Excellent job with the witnesses."

"You knew?" I asked.

"I was made aware."

"Well thanks a lot for the angelic assistance," Dean says. I go around both of them and get a glass and fill it with water. "You know, Ella almost got her heart ripped out of her chest." Castiel looks at me with very slight concern in his eyes.

"But she didn't, obviously."

"I though angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos, you know Michael Landon. Not dicks," Dean spats out at Castiel.

"Read the Bible, Dean. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."

"Yeah? Then why didn't you fight?" I ask. I take a sip of my water and I pour the rest out.

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns."

"Concerns?" I ask.

"There were people gettin' torn to shreds down here," Dean yells at the angel quietly. "And by the way, while all of this is going on, where is your boss, huh? If there is a God."

"There's a God."

"Well I'm not convinced. Cause if there's a God, what the hell is he waitin' for? Huh? Genocide? Monsters roaming the earth, the freaking apocalypse? At what point does he lift a damn finger and help the poor bastards that are stuck down here?"

"Look, the Lord works,"

"If you say mysterious ways, so help me, I will kick your ass." Castiel throws his hands up as if saying 'fine, I'm finished'.

"So Bobby was right," I start. "About the witnesses. This is some kind of a sign of the apocalypse?"

"That's why we're here. Big things a foot."

"Like what? I wanna know what kind of things."

"I sincerely doubt it, but you need to know. The Rising of the Witnesses if one of the 66 seals."

" 'Kay I'm guessing it's not a show at Sea World." I chuckle.

"Those seals are being broken by Lilith."

"There's that stupid freakin' name again, what the hell kind of name is Lilith? What does it mean?"

"Of the night, really. It's a long explanation for another time, Ella."

"Anyhow, back to the seals," Dean says.

"She did the spell. She rose the witnesses." Castiel nods.

"And not just here. Twenty other hunters are dead."

"Who?" I ask worried. Castiel shakes his head.

"Of course. She picked victims the hunter's couldn't save, so that they would barrel right after us."

"Lilith has a certain sense of humor."

"Well we put those spirits back to rest."

"Doesn't matter, the seal was broken."

"Why break the seal anyhow?" I ask before Dean can even get it out of his mouth. I look at him and lean against his arm that his behind me resting on the counter. His thumb brushes against my hip and it gives me goosebumps yet soothes my nerves at the same time.

"Think of the seals as locks on a door."

"Last one opens and?"

"Lucifer walks free."

"Lucifer?" I ask. "As in the Devil, Satan? I though Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing."

"Three days ago you two didn't think there was such a thing as me. Why do you think we're here, walking among you now for the first time in two thousand years?"

"To stop Lucifer," Dean whispers.

Castiel nods. "It's why we've arrived."

"Well, bang up job so far," Dean says, annoyed with Castiel. "Stellar work with the witnesses. It's nice."

"We tried. There are other battles. Other seals, some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one, we lost. Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers have died in the field this week. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around. There's a bigger picture here. You should show me some respect, Dean. I dragged you out of hell, I can throw you back in."

Then Castiel disappears right before our very eyes.

* * *

My eyes open suddenly and I see boots walk in front of my face. I relax and feel something on my hip. I look down and it's Dean's hand. Right where I dreamed that his hand was. I look at Sam and he's smiling. I glare at him and sit up. His hand falls a little toward the small of my back.

"I'm guessing he doesn't do this much does he?"

"Nope." Dean and I are a good foot away from each other. He must have turned over and his hand landed there. I turn and nudge Dean awake.

"Dean, wake up," I whisper. He groans and makes a fist, catching my shirt in his hand. "Dean, wake up." I say. I unravel his hand from my shirt and I get up. "Is there any coffee left?" Sam nods. I go to the kitchen and pour myself some. I hear Dean sit up and start talking to Sam.

"What's wrong Dean?"

"So, you got no problem believin' in God and angels."

"No, not really."

"So I guess that means you believe in the devil."

"Why are you asking me all this?" I don't know what Dean does but I'm one hundred percent sure he had the same dream I did.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Another chapter! I like this one a lot. I did skip the one where Dean goes back in time and it's not mentioned in this chapter but it does happen. It's just not Ella's business and they talk about it when she's asleep in the Impala. Review please! I would love to know if I'm doing well with this or if I should just stop or if I should revise. Let me know if you want anything in here in the future or not.

P.S. There will be some smut in later chapters. Not yet. Happy reading! (:

**C****hapter Three**

**Ella**

I'm lay on the bed furthest from the door, reading, when Dean comes in not talking. He was out all night, which was weird, but he's a grown man.

"Dean," Sam says. He ignores him. Which is also weird. Dean grabs his clothes and puts them in his bag. Since I don't have a bag yet, I've been sharing with both of them and he takes my clothes out of Sam's bag and my clothes out of his bag and into a new one. Boo ya. "What are you, are you leaving?"

"You don't need me or Ella. You and Ruby go fight demons."

"Hold on, Dean. Come on." Dean turns around and punches Sam. I turn my head away from that. "Satisfied?" Dean punches his again. "I guess not."

"Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal, from human?"

"We're just exorcising demons."

"With your mind!" Dean yells at him. "What else can you do?"

"I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons. That's it." Dean grabs Sam by the collar and shoves him back.

"What else can you do?"

"I just told you."

"And I have every reason in the world to believe that?" Dean walks away. "Come on El. Let's go."

"Look, Dean. I should have said something. I'm sorry Dean, I am. But try to see the other side."

"The other side?

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

"Use the knife," Dean shouts.

"The knife kills the victim. What I do, most of them survive. I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year."

"That what Ruby wants you to think? The way she tricked you into using your powers. Slippery slope brother. Just wait and see. 'Cause this is going to get darker and darker and God knows where it ends."

"I'm not going to let it go too far."

"Ella, leave, please." I get up, slip my shoes on and walk out the door with the book. I go to the Impala, get in, and slip my shoes back off, putting my feet on the dash of the passenger side. I hear something crash and I jump in the seat. Everything quiets down. I see Dean come out with his bag and mine. He puts them in the trunk and gets in the car.

I turn toward him and touch his arm. "Are you going to be okay?"

He sighs. "Maybe." I scoot toward him and rest my head on his shoulder.

"You'll be okay. I know you will." I look at him and smile. He smiles and shakes his head. "You're going to be just fine. What ever the spat be between you and Sam, y'all will always figure it out."

"Your faith in us is too much."

"Well you're brothers. There's not much you two can't get past."

He nods and says, "We've got a case in Missouri. Carthage, Missouri."

"I'll get in the back." I turn and climb over the seats just like he doesn't want me to, guess who doesn't care. Me!

* * *

I fall asleep on the way. I'm guessing around two or three hours later, Dean wakes me up.

"El, wake up. You said you wanted to hunt, well you get to tonight."

"What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter. It's time to wake up." I sit up and I see his hand with binoculars in them.

"What am I doing?"

"Spying on that guy in there. His name is Jack Montgomery and we don't know what he is yet, and we need to figure that out. So we get to spy on him."

"Spy?"

"Hunters stalk and watch their prey, we are hunters, we stalk and watch our prey too. Get used to it." We watch him for a while.

"You sure that's him?"

"Only Jack Montgomery in town."

"And we're looking for?" I ask.

"Travis, a friend of ours, said to keep an eye out for anything weird."

"Weird? Alright well I've seen big weird, little weird, weird with crazy on top but this guy. Come on, this guys boring," Dean complains.

"I don't know, Dean. He seemed pretty sure." We watch him for a few more minutes. Then we see him eat ground beef. That's not cooked.

"I'd say that qualifies as weird," I say. "I'm done with the stalking part, when's the research?"

* * *

We go to a motel and when we walk into the room we are supposed to be in, I'm surprised by a random guy sitting drinking a beer.

"Travis!" Dean says, smiling. "See Sam, I told you we should of had the beer."

"Smart ass," The man says. They walk toward each other and hug.

"Good to see ya Travis," Sam says. I walk in a little bit more and stand there awkwardly. I never liked the introducing part of getting to know someone through someone else.

"Man you got tall kid." They all laugh.

"And who is this pretty thing?" Travis asks. I'm a little creeped but I do realize that I am 26 and not 16 so it's not weird.

"This is Ella," Dean says snaking his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him, in a friendly way like a brother and sister would do. Though I don't think Dean liked it when he called me pretty. I know I definitely did not. "She's huntin' with us now."

"That's great. How are you likin' the long hours of driving and the late nights and the diner meals?"

"It's only been a month but I've gotten used to it."

"She hasn't complained once about it. I think she likes the Impala as much as Dean does. Maybe even more," Sam tells Travis. I smirk and blush a little.

"Well I complained once."

"For something that is completely justified," Sam says.

"No it wasn't. Girl's should complain about that. It's natural, so what if it hurts. You women should be used to it by now. Besides all of those bathroom breaks, not okay."

"Get used to it Dean. I am a woman." Travis laughs at our banter.

"They do this a lot?"

"Frequently," Sam tells Travis.

"Let me look at you two. Grown men, John would have been proud of you, stickin' together like this."

"Yeah, we we're as thick as thieves. Nothing more important than family." Travis smiles and I sense the tension.

"Sorry I'm late for the dance. Thanks for helpin' out an old man. I'm a bit short handed," he says, laughing and holding up his right hand. "So, you track down Montgomery?"

"Yeah, we found him at his home," Sam tells Travis.

"He had a hell of the case of the munchies, that's for damn sure," I joke half heartedly.

"Topped it off with a burger that he forgot to cook," Dean says definitely disturbed.

"That's him all right."

"What's him?" Dean and I ask at the same time.

"Boys, and lady, we got a Rugaru on our hands."

"Is this made up? This sounds made up." I say, in disbelief.

"They're mean, nasty little suckers. Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."

"Well that ain't this guy," Dean starts, "he was wearin' a cell phone on his belt."

"They start out human for all intents and purposes."

"And what? They go through some kind of metamorphisis?" Sam asks, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, like a maggot turnin' into a bull fly. But worst of all, they're hungry."

"Hungry for what?" I ask.

"Well first for everything. But then long pig." Sam lets out a breathy groan. Human? Well, awesome.

"Long pig?"

"He means human flesh," Sam and I say at the same time.

"And that is my word of the day." I chuckle.

"One bite and it happens. No goin' back." Dean cringes.

"So how did you find this guy if he's a walkin' talkin' human, for all intents and purposes?"

"Let's just say it runs in the family."

"His father?" Travis nods.

"Back in '78. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac, trophy wife. Little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone."

"You mean to tell you couldn't find someone?" Sam asks, smirking.

"Not sure I wanted to. Idea of huntin' down some poor kid. I don't think I'd had the heart. No, wanted to wait. Be damn sure I had the right man. Apparently I do."

* * *

By the time bed time rolled around, I was already falling asleep on Dean's shoulder.

"Ella, you should get some sweats on. I don't think you'd want to want to sleep in jeans." I sit up and follow Dean's advice. I sink onto the couch with my hoodie as my blanket. "El," Dean coos. "Sleep on the bed. You need it. I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, I'm the person you're dragging along, I don't get the bed."

"Would it make you feel better if I slept on the bed with you?"

"No. It would make me feel better if you shut up, and went to sleep in the bed." He rolls his eyes.

"Up you go."

"Dean put me down."

"Okay." He puts me down on the bed, walks around and lays with me. "Sleep Ella. It'll do you good." I close my eyes and finally fall asleep.

* * *

"So with fire, huh?" Dean asks Travis. They are building fire torches so they can kill the Rugaru.

"Only way I found to kill these bastards. Deep fry 'em."

"Well that's gonna be, horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?" He nods and Sam comes in with a stack of papers. Research, and he didn't think to invite me?

"Not wasting anytime are you?"

"None to waste. When the guy hulks out, we won't be findin' bodies. Just remains."

"What if he doesn't hulk out? I did a little homework. I've been checkin' out the lore on Rugarus."

"Lore? My thirty years of experience not good enough for you?" Travis says smirking then taking a sip of his coffee, I think.

"What? No, I just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't uh,"

"Sam loves research. He does. He keeps it right under his mattress next to K-Y. It's a sickness. It is."

"Look, everything you said checked out, of course. But uhm, I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this Rugaru gene or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."

"Really?" Dean and I ask.

"See if they don't eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So, go vegan stay human?" Dean asks, making sure he understands.

"Basically. Or incase, eat a lot of raw meat. Not,"

"Long pig!" Dean says for Sam.

"Right." Dean smirks at himself, proud that he remembered.

"Those are fairy tales, Sam. The fact is, every Rugaru I ever seen or heard of, took that bite."

"That doesn't mean that Jack will," Sam says, getting defensive. I lean toward Dean.

"Is he trying to save Jack?" I whisper.

"I think so." Dean turns toward Travis and Sam, getting ready to break up a fight if needed.

"I think I'm going to go get some more coffee. I'll be back in ten." I get up and walk out of the door with a room key.

* * *

"Hey, get in. We're gonna go talk to Jack." Dean yells out the window of the roaring Impala. I get in and we leave. Along the way Dean starts talking to Sam. "So we're gonna go have a little chat with this guy, which you know I'm down. I just wanna make sure, if push comes, you're gonna shove."

"Meaning?"

"Well odds are, we're going to have to burn this guy alive." I play with the ends of my red-brown hair again, getting nervous that the boys are going to fight again.

"This guy has a name. And a wife."

"Who we are probably going to have to make a widow, okay? You heard Travis. He's gonna turn, they always do."

"Well maybe he won't. Maybe he can fight it off."

"Maybe he can't, that's all I'm sayin'."

"Alright, we're just going to have to see then, okay?"

"See this is what I mean Sam. You sure your emotions aren't getting in the way here."

"What are you talking about, Dean?"

"You know, nice dude but he's got something evil inside of him. Something in his blood, maybe you can relate."

"Stop the car."

"What?"

"Stop the car, or I will." Dean pulls over into a small dirt round about. Sam and Dean both get out and I stay put. I hear their yelling but I don't intervene. It's not my place. "Do you wanna know why I've been lying to you Dean? Because of crap like this."

"Oh like what?"

"The way you talk to me, the way you look at me like I'm a freak. Or even worse, like I'm an idiot. Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong. What?"

"Do you know the difference Sam? I mean, you've kinda been strollin' a dark road lately."

"You have no idea what I'm going through. No idea."

"Then enlighten me."

"I've got demon blood in me Dean. This disease pumping through my veins and I can ever rip it out or scrub it clean. I'm a whole new level of freak! And I'm just trying to take this, this curse, and make something good out of it. Because I have to."

"Let's just go talk to the guy." Sam scoffs. "I mean Jack, okay?" They get back in the car and I sink back into the leather interior, pretending I'm not here feeling the tension between the two.

* * *

When we get to Jack's, we walk through the gate to see him watering the flowers.

"Jack Montgomery?" I ask. He looks at us. "I'm Ella Jackson, this is Sam and Dean Winchester. We need to talk."

"About?"

"About you," I inform him. "About how you're changing."

"Excuse me?"

"You're probably feeling your bones move under skin?" Dean asks. "And your appetite is reaching hungry hungry hippo level, how am I doin' so far?"

"Who the hell are you guys?"

"We're people who know a little something about something," Sam says. "People who can help. Please just hear us out." We tell him everything about Rugarus.

"Wait, what?"

"Rugaru, it sounds made up, I know. We all thought it was made up. But believe me, it's not," I tell him.

"Alright, I've noticed certain things. I mean some strange things but, I, I don't know. I'm sick or something."

"Your father was one of these things. Your real father," Sam says. "And he passed it on to you."

"No. Are you guys listening to yourselves?"

"Let's skip the whole 'you sound crazy' shall we?" Dean suggests, irritated. "You're hungry Jack. You're only gonna get hungrier."

"Hungry for?"

"Long pig. A little man-burger helper may of crossed your mind already."

"No."

"It doesn't have to be like that Jack. You can fight it," I say, hoping that I sound sincere. "Others have." Jack denies being this monster again. "We're not going to lie to you though. It's not going to be easy. You'll feel like an alcoholic's out of whiskey. But I'm telling you, you gotta say no. Or you feed once and it's all over, you'll transition completely. Then, we'll have to stop you."

"Stop me? My dad, did uh somebody stop him?" I nod. "Get off my property. Right now, I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops."

"Jack, your wife, every body you know they're in danger," I tell him, hoping to change his mind.

"Now!" He yells at me. I glare at him and he glares back. I have half a mind to walk right up to him and slap him, to knock some sense into him. I walk away instead.

Dean mutters, "good talk," in Sam's ear as we are leaving. I'm irritated that the man just yelled at me so I slap Dean's arm. When we get to the car, I slam the door shut when I get in.

* * *

When we get back to the motel, I sit in the car, waiting for the anger to pass completely before I walk in. Sam lingers behind as Dean walks in.

"You comin' in?"

"In a bit," I say softly. He nods and walks back to a waiting Dean. I don't go in for fear of saying something stupid and pissing one of the boys off, but I am upset and I need to let it pass before public interactions. I've got anger issues, thanks to my family. I love 'em, but I hate 'em too. I take a few deep breaths, calming myself, but not completely.

I get out and walk up to the room. I walk in and Dean is checking the torches. Sam is in the bathroom taking a shower and I sit on the bed.

"You been in the car this whole time?" Dean asks.

"It's been like two minutes."

"It's been thirty-five." I look at the clock and it really has been a half an hour.

"Sorry I was out there so long, okay," I say getting slightly irritated again.

"Are you on your period again?" Thank God it's only Dean and I.

"No, Dean. I'm not." I get up and walk over to him. He turns and I throw my arms around his neck, hugging him. Something I'm not entirely sure he's comfortable with. He does wrap his arms around my waist, which I'm thankful for. I really just need a hug.

"What's this all about?" He asks, his mouth much closer to my ear than I thought. His face is buried in my hair and the crook of my neck.

"I just really need a hug." He tightens his grip around my waist, letting me know that he's complying and giving into my need. I can feel his breath against my neck and it calms me down. I pull away. "Thank you."

He nods. "Course."

"So what are you workin' on?'

"Torches for Jack when he hulks out. Which he will. Sam and I are going out on Jack-watch tonight. You get to stay here."

"Aw, why Dean?"

"Too dangerous for you. What if he hulks out? You could get hurt."

"So could you."

"But I'm trained to do this. I'll be fine. So will Sam. Stay here and we will come back in one piece. I promise you."

* * *

Several hours, ten unanswered calls, and twenty unanswered text messages later, they still aren't back. It's the middle of the night and I'm stressed and I just want to go to sleep knowing they're fine and not hurt. Which doesn't seem like it's going to happen till morning. I lay down on the couch and I fall asleep, still stressed.

I do wake to slight jostling, like I'm being carried. I look up when I hit cool night air. It's Dean.

"Oh my goodness, you're safe." I throw my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest. He chuckles.

"I told you I'd come back in one piece." I slap his chest.

"And it took several hours to kill him?"

"I was unconscious for most of it." He sets me down and opens the back seat for me. "See?" I see a cut above his eye but nothing he can't handle.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"I'm fine. Told you."

"Hush, smart ass." I climb into the back and lie down. He climbs into the front with Sam and we head out onto the road.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Ella**

We drive across the state line into Pennsylvania from Ohio. This is the most I've traveled, ever. Furthest I've been on either side of the country is New York City and Seattle with a bit of Sacramento a couple states down.

Sam and Dean are talking about the case we are going to which is pretty weird. Dead guy with fang marks in his neck and his body was drained of blood. Plus there was a witness that swears up and down that it was a vampire. Weird, right? I think it just screams case to me and besides, I found it. I was pretty proud of myself and Sam researched it with me and that's when we found the witness statement about the vampire.

Sam, Dean, and I walk into the community center dressed as FBI agents. They actually got me my very own fake FBI ID. How generous. It's Octoberfest, this town like to spell it Oktoberfest, and every bar maid is dressed like a German bar maid and the outfits are slutty. Great way to attract customers, I'll say. Especially the male population, maybe some of the females too.

"Still gotta see the new Raiders movie."

"Saw it."

Dean's offended and left out. "Without me?"

Sam nods. "You were in hell."

"That's no excuse." I laugh at his comment back. Dean looks around and something catches his eye, I think it's a woman till he says, "big pretzel," and walks off.

"He always this in love with food?"

"Very much so." I roll my eyes and we walk toward Dean and the man selling them. He gets Sam one but not me, which is fine. I only like the baked ones found in the plastic bag at the store. "Thank you," Sam says when Dean hands him his.

"Give me some of that." I tear a little piece off and put it in my mouth. I moan in appreciation. "This is why we get along so well Dean. We both like food." He smiles and keeps eating his big pretzel.

"Guten Tag!" A bar maid says walking by. Dean looks at her suggestively.

"Guten Tag yourself." I hit his arm.

"I've got better legs than her. Come on, let's just get this case done. Look, there's our man." I walk over to the police officer and flash my badge. "Agent Collins, these are agents, Angus and Young. We called ahead about your problem."

"Right, I'll tell you what, how about we talk about this away from the crowd." I nod and we follow him to the morgue. He drags the body out of the freezer and uncovers her face. "Marissa Wright, 26. Just up from Lockhard for the fest. Terrible, just terrible. It's the last thing this town needs for big tourist season."

"Definitely the last thing Marissa Wright needed," Sam says.

Dean turns her face and sees the fang marks. They're just regular fang marks. "What the hell?"

"Yeah, you got me. I mean this killer's some kind of grade A wacko, right? I mean some Satan-worshipping, Anne Rice reading, gothic psycho vampire wannabe."

"Sheriff, in your report you mentioned a witness," Dean says, dragging the topic from the killer to the witness.

"Well, I wished I didn't. But witness insisted. That's Ed Bruer. Not exactly what you'd call reliable." He pushes the body back in and we leave. I talk with the sheriff on the way out though.

"So he's the only witness?"

"Yes."

"Time of death?"

"Around midnight a couple days ago. Found her yesterday morning around four. It's tragic."

"It is. I'm sorry for the loss. Was she up here for the fest?"

"We think so. But we can't be sure." I place my hand on his shoulder and apologise once more. When I walk out, Dean grabs my arm.

"What the hell was that for?" He asks.

"Comfort Dean. I was just showing the man comfort. Why? Are you jealous?" I smile. "You are!" I stop and look at him. "Don't worry Dean. You are the only man in my life. You know, except for Sam, and Bobby."

"Oh come on," he says, a hint of a smile plays on his lips and he leads me away with a hand on the small of my back. Inside, I'm doing backflips. We walk into a bar and up to the bar.

"I remember you."

"And I remember you, Jamie." All while he's saying this, his hand doesn't move from my lower back.

"He never forgets a pretty," Sam looks her up and down. "Everything. We're looking for Ed Bruer."

"What do you want with Ed?"

"Well we are federal agents," I tell Jamie, the bar maid and we all get our badges out. "Mr. Bruer is a witness to a serious crime. We just need to,"

"Wait a minute, you're a fed?" Dean nods. "Wow you don't come on like a fed," she says flirting with him. I roll my eyes.

"Ed Bruer, where is he?" I say getting in the middle of that before it gets ugly.

"Over there."

"Thank you." I turn with Sam and we start to walk away. Dean catches up.

"What was that?" He asks.

"Just trying to solve the case."

"Are you jealous?" I shrug. "You are! Don't worry Ella, you're the only woman in my life. Except for well you know," he pauses.

"No one else. I'm the only woman."

"Hey that's no fair!" I laugh and walk away, swaying my hips.

* * *

We walk up to Ed and sit down across from him. Well Sam and I do. Dean has to get a chair from a different table to sit with us and I'm stuck between Sam and Dean. Ed takes a long drink of his jug, I think it is, before he starts talking.

"I told the cops everything I saw. No one believes me. Why should you be any different?"

"Believe me Mr. Bruer, we're different," Dean offers as a coax to get him to start talking to us about the murder.

"I spoke the God's honest truth. And now I'm the town joke."

"Marissa Wright's murder is no joke to us," I say. "We want to hear every thing. No matter how strange it may seem. We have a lot of experience with strange."

He takes another sip out of his jug and starts blabbing. "It was just after midnight. I just left here and like I do every night, I cut through the park on the way home. At first I thought it was a couple kissing, but she was struggling too much. And this man he was well he was biting her neck."

"Can you describe her assailant?" Sam asks, busting out a smart word.

"Oh yeah! He was a vampire."

Sam tries the interrogating again. "And by that you mean?"

"Oh you know, a vampire." Ed makes the vampire hissing noise. "He looked like a vampire. You know the fangs, the slicked back hair, the fancy cape and the little medallion thingy, ribbon."

"You mean like a Dracula?" I ask, putting the pieces together.

"Exactly! Like a Dracula."

"Let's hope he doesn't stink," I whisper to Dean. He fights a smile.

"Right down to the accent."

"The accent?" Dean asks to control his chuckles. "What did he say?"

"You know, something like, 'stay away, the night is mine.' You do believe me, don't you?"

"Yes, Ed we do. I promise we will get this vampire running amuck," I tell him with all the seriousness, I can muster up. We get up one by one and go to the bar to get a drink.

"So what do you think? Goth, psycho, vampire wannabe, right?"

"Definitely not our kind of case." That disappoints me because I found it and we drove all this way just to investigate.

"Agreed, but who cares. Rooms paid for and it's Octoberfest. Come on, brother and lady. Beer and bar wenches."

"I'm pretty sure women today don't react well to the whole wench thing," Sam says.

"Well," I start to say. Dean starts to prove his case by calling the bar maid.

"Hey bar wench, where's that beer?"

"Coming up good sir!" She shouts back. Sam rolls his eyes.

"Dude, Octoberfest."

"There ya go. What can I get ya?" She asks Sam and I.

"Oh he doesn't drink. He's Christian scientist. Doesn't even take aspirin. He's a real drag on stakeouts." She giggles.

"You're funny."

"Well I'm a lot more than funny. What time do you get off?"

"Ha ha, like I said funny." I kick his shins under the table. "I'll get you a beer?" She says to me.

"If I'm going to be spending the rest of the day with this bafoon. I'll need it." She laughs and walks away.

"Man, it is time to right some wrongs."

"Come again?" I ask my brow raised.

"I came back from the furnace without any of my old scars, right? Bullet wounds, knife cuts. None of the off angle fingers from all the breaks. I mean my hide is as smooth as a baby's bottom. Which leads me to conclude," The bar maid, Jamie, brings me my drink and walks away before Dean says, "sadly that my virginity is intact."

Sam is confused by the reasoning behind his virginity being intact. "What?"

"I've been re-hymenated." I laugh so hard my stomach starts hurting, Sam laughs too.

"Please!" I say once I get my laughing under control. "Dean, maybe angels can pull you out of hell but no one can do that."

"Ella, I have been re-hymenated. And the dude will not abide."

"Alright, well you go do whatever you've gotta do, I'm gonna go back to the room and get some sleep." I finish my sip of beer and give him the rest of my beer.

"Amen to that. I am coming with you," I tell Sam. We get up and go back to the motel room.

* * *

I walk to the bathroom and strip out of my pants and nice shirt. I have spandex on and a tank top under the clothes so I fold my clothes neatly, and put them in my bag. I go to the couch and lay down.

"You know, you should come sleep on the bed. There is an extra and I' sure won't mind if you use it."

"I wont intrude. I'm sure he doesn't want the whole bed smelling like me."

"Ella, don't make me come over there and pick you up. Come over here, besides I want to talk."

"Oh great. I should not be dreading this as much as I do." I get up and go to the free bed which is furthest from the door. I lay on my stomach and hug the pillow. "Yes, Sam?"

"Were you and Dean flirting when we left the morgue and when we were talking to Ed and when the bar maid came up?"

"Well I wouldn't say flirting but we were friendly."

"You mean flirting."

"I mean friendly," I say smiling.

Sam gives up, well he let's it go for now. "Okay, I'll believe you this time. It happens again and it's flirting."

"Well he is sorta handsome."

"Oh hush, now I don't want to know."

"You asked for it, Sammy."

He groans. "Not you too." I laugh. I turn my head and eventually fall asleep.

* * *

I wake up when I feel a dip in the bed. I'm on my back, one arm above my head, the other across my stomach, my legs bent. I open my eyes to find Dean laying down.

"Losing your virginity not work out?"

"Ha ha, and no. We're leaving tomorrow and she refused today therefore, still re-hymenated." I draw my arms to my chest and crawl under the blankets. "You're staying?"

"It's be sort of stupid to go to the couch now, I'm already comfy."

"Good. I'm glad you're finally sleeping on the bed and not on the couch. You can bunk with me you know."

"I just feel like I'm intruding."

"Well you're not. Don't worry about it."

We are silent for a while, till I speak up. "Dean you awake?" He nods. "Do you want to know what Sam asked me today?"

I examine Dean's face. His eyes are closed and his mouth is slightly open. Oh his mouth, I want to kiss him so badly, but I refrain. "What?"

"If we were flirting today."

"What you say?"

"What would you say if he asked you that?"

He angles his body a little closer to mine. "That it's none of his business. Your turn."

I shrug. "I told him that we were friendly. But I was smiling so he didn't believe me." Dean grins.

"Were we flirting?" Dean asks.

"I'd say so, but that's just me. And Sam, and I'm sure the bar maid caught on too when you didn't take your hand off of my lower back and your body wouldn't stop itself from touching me whenever it got the chance." His hand slides closer to me and it pokes my hand till I put it on the bed and he plays with my fingers. "Do female hands interest you, Mr. Winchester?"

"Well they are so damn small and soft all the time. They're really thin and your fingers are long."

"That's the best part about being a female. Long fingers come in handy." He groans and links our fingers together.

"Don't ever say that to a guy that your in bed with and don't intend on sleeping with that night."

I decide to use faux innocence. "But I am sleeping with you tonight."

"Not what I meant." I chuckle. "Let's go to sleep before any other comment go flyin' and I have to sleep on the couch or get another room for the two of us."

I shrug. "I'm down for the ladder. Night though." I unlink my fingers and turn around, but I am a little closer to Dean. He groans again and I laugh.

* * *

When I wake up in the morning, Dean's arm is under my pillow, his hand sticking out with my hand right next to his and his other arm is slung over my hip, hand resting on my bladder, which is full. What is it with my hips and him? Every time we sleep next to each other, his hand goes to my hip, not my waist, my hip. Is it because my hair ends right there and he likes to play with my hair? Not sure. Maybe I should cut my hair a couple inches and test out this new theory.

I get up from Dean's hold and walk to the bathroom as quietly as I can to not wake him. Sam is awake and sipping coffee. I heard Sam and Dean get up and leave last night after Sam got a call, probably from the sheriff, and I didn't hear them come back. But here they are.

"Were you enjoying the cuddling?" Sam asks. I jump because I forgot he was there.

"Oh hush! You know that's all him, right? Every time I've slept in the same bed as him or around him, his hand is glued to my hip."

I sit down across from Sam and take his coffee. "Try sleeping in my bed this time. That way you'll get a bed to sleep in and your hip won't be attacked by Dean's hand or arm."

"And I suppose you know how to keep your hands off of a woman in your sleep?" I take a sip and I'm mildly disgusted, milk and one sugar. "Nasty coffee, man. I like mine milk and three sugars. Was that another wacky murder last night?" Sam nods. "I'm taking a shower and I'm using up all the shampoo and conditionare Sam, buy me some next time you go to the store, I like tresemmé."

* * *

We sit down across from this girl who is drinking an extra extra large soda and telling us the story little bits at a time. I'm disgusted by the slurping noise it's making for being empty at the end, but I sit through it.

"And it just tore Rick into little pieces."

"Ma'am we understand how hard this is, can you describe the creature?" Dean asks the witness.

She takes another sip of her drink. "It was a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Sam asks. She nods. "You're sure?"

"Oh yeah, with the fury face and the black nose and the claws. And the torn up pants and shirt. Like from the old movies."

"Okay, so, thank you for your time," Dean says politely, well as politely as Dean can. We get up and go to the morgue. "First a Dracula, then an old movie time wolf, what the hell is going on in this town?" Sam pulls the body out of the freezer and unzips it. I can smell it and barely see it, even with my six inch heels, I can barely see it. Wow, I am short. "Damn!"

Sam starts picking at the body. "Alright, whatever did this, wasn't a psycho wannabe." He holds up shredded muscles and Dean cringes while I stand there calm.

"How the hell are you not cringing right now?"

"dissected four fetal pigs, in two weeks with no gloves on in anatomy my sophomore year of high school. Plus I got to make an incision in the trachea and I put a straw in there and made one squeal. And I dissected a cow's eye, a sheep brain and a sheep heart. Bare hands guys. I smelled like death the rest of the day with each dissection. It was the first period of the day, every day. Trust me, this is not gross."

Sam looks really disgusted. "Damn, you've got more balls than Sam and I do combined," Dean replies. I shrug.

Sam throws the muscles back in. "Look at those bite marks. Right down to the bone, and deeper."

"Strong enough to tear apart a healthy man limb from limb. Could be a werewolf."

"Yeah, except, look. Hearts still there, in one piece. They never leave the heart behind." That's news to me.

"Thus I reiterate, what the hell is going on?" I hear footsteps and I turn. It's the sheriff.

"Well I was hope you three could tell me. Just got a rush job back from the lab. Fibers we found on the body, canine. Wolf hairs."

"I'm getting a headache," Dean says.

"Thank you sheriff." We leave and head out to the bar. We sit at a table and order our food, but the girl Dean was flirting with, was not our server.

When we are close to finished, Dean starts talking about the case. "I don't know, guys seems like we've stumbled upon a midnight showing of Dracula meets wolfman. Is that it?"

"I don't know. Wolfman seems real enough, makes Dracula seem a little less impossible, I guess."

"Werewolves don't grow wolf hair, that's just a myth. So we got a vampire and a werewolf monster mashing this town?"

The waitress we had last night, comes over with three beers, one for me and one for Dean, and one even for Sam. "Looks like you guys are staying a while. I heard about Rick Decan. It's tragic." She looks sad but it doesn't seem like it. I don't call her out on it either. I just let it be.

"It just got weird enough for our uh, department."

"Well beers are on me tonight. And just so you know, I get off at midnight tonight." She walks away swaying her hips.

I punch Dean in the arm. "You go out with her tonight, I'll sleep with Sam."

"So you'll be sharing a bed with him tonight?"

"I mean sex, Dean." Sam is smart enough not to say anything but just winks at me. I smirk.

"No, just because he needs to get laid doesn't mean it needs to be with you."

"Then don't go out with her, duh."

Dean manuvers to look at me. "Then, Ella, will you go out with me tonight?"

I mull it over in my head before shrugging. "No. Now that I was talking about sleeping with Sam, I kinda want to now." I see the tips of Sam's ears turning red. Dean shakes his head.

"You're going out with me tonight."

"How should I dress? Jeans? Or a skirt?"

"Skirt is easy access, but jeans are more fitting for the weather."

"Dean, you can't get me into bed with you that fast. We've known each other for a month and a half. Slow down."

"Most people know each other an hour and a half and they're in the sack together."

"That's how STD's and pregnancies happen, Dean. Tell junior to yield." He smirks. "I'll see you two back at the room." Sam laughs and lets me know that everything will be fine.

* * *

A few hours later, I'm on the bed reading my book waiting for Sam and Dean. They must have gotten a call about the case. Another dead body maybe? A break through? I set my book down and walk outside to see if they are coming back. I walk down the hall of the motel and I don't see them. But I do hear something that makes me turn around. It's Dracula, like a version of Dracula.

"Good evening," he says. Wow he really does have the accent. I turn and run to the town square. He follows me and I hit a dead end. Shit. "I have watched you for many nights from afar. My passion knows, no bounds, Mina." I check my pockets for my phone, and I can't seem to find it. "You're the reincarnation of my beloved, and I must have you." I slap him and run past him. I run toward the room and find Dean on my way. I hide behind him as Dracula catches up to me.

"Son of a bitch."

"You should not use such language in the presence of my bride." Dracula tries sizing up Dean and just for future reference, I would choose Dean every time.

"Okay." Dean punches Dracula and he comes back up quickly, fangs bared. They start to fight. Dean throws punches and Dracula blocks them. The vampire pushes Dean against the wall and holds him by his neck. "Ella, run!" And I do. I run to the room and slam the door shut. Sam is in the room confused.

"Dracula just tried attacking me, Dean helped me. I need a drink. I'm going back to the bar." I walk out and I see Dean walking toward me. "I'm going to the bar."

"I'm right there with ya."

"I told Sam."

"Good." He puts his hand on my back and leads me to the bar. The bar maid's friend is in there and when she sees us, she asks what we want. "Give us a bottle of whiskey." She hands him the bottle and we sit in a booth while she leaves.

A few minutes later, Sam walks in. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, I think I know what's going on though. Part of it at least." Sam unwraps the towel and discovers an ear, more specifically Dracula's ear.

"The ear part?"

"Ripped it off of Dracula's head. Touch it." Sam give him the look saying 'are you serious right now' while Dean is say 'seriously, dude, touch it.' So that's what Sam does. "Feel familiar to you?"

"Awh man."

"Skin of a shapeshifter. Just like St. Louis and just like Milwaukee. Just this ones whole buckets of crazy. Oh and uh, this, I pulled it off during the fight." Dean hands Sam a ribbon. "Look at the label on the ribbon." It says, '_The FX Shop Prophouse_.'

"It's a costume rental."

"All three monsters, the Dracula, the wolfman, the mummy. All the same critter. Which means we need to catch this freak before he 'creature from the black lagoon's' somebody."

"The stage craft, the costuming. It's like he's trying to reenact his favorite monster movie moments. Right down to the bloody murders."

"Wait, who's Mina again? Dracula's long lost love?"

"Mina?"

"Yeah, it's what he called Ella, and he called me Mr. Harker."

"Jonathan Harker? They're characters from the movies and the novels. Mina, Dracula's intended bride, Harker the fiance that stands in the way. It seems like he's fixating on you, like he sees you as his bride."

"Lucky me."

"But to fixate on you, my guess is the shifter has to of seen you before. Or been around you."

"El, has anyone strange looked at you weird anywhere and you recognize them here? Or even while we've been in town."

"Well since we've been in town I haven't recognized anyone. The sheriff has taken a liking to me, Ed spilled the beans every time I talked to him instead of you two."

"Ed Bruer, Ed?" Sam asks.

I nod. "Yeah, I've caught him looking at me a few times. Like intentionally turning around in his booth to look. I did a little asking around and found out he works in the movie theater. I think they said he's a protectionist."

"Take care of Mina?" Sam asks Dean.

He nods. "You got it." Sam leaves and Dean turns back to me. "So Mina, how are you on this fine evening?"

"Just fine, how are you Mr. Harker?"

"Just fine?"

"I'm not a damsel in distress, Dean."

"But you are a damsel." I raise my eye brow. "Alright, alright."

I sigh and take a sip of my shot. "So why do you and Sam do it?" He's confused. "Fight monsters, get beat up over it?"

"Because it the right thing."

"But you're giving up your life to this terrible, horrifying responsiblity."

Dean pauses a few moments before responding. "These last few years, I started thinking that way. And uh, it started weighing on me. A little while ago, when I died and went to hell and came back, things were different. My life's been different. I realized that I help people, not just help them though, I save them. It's awesome. It's kind of like a gift. Like a mission, kind of like a mission from God."

"Why did you die, Dean?"

"You've heard the fights that Sam and I are having right?" I nod. "Well a few years ago, we learned what killed our mother when Sam was just a baby. And before the demon, that's what it was; it was a special demon, but before it killed her he bled into Sam mouth a little and it gave him these, these uh powers I guess. And a year before I died, Sam was taken to a deserted town with other kids that were like him. They had to fight I guess and which ever came out on top, meaning they had to kill the other 'special people,' they would use this gun to open the Gates of Hell. Well Sammy died. He was stabbed in the back and I sold my soul to a demon to get him back. I had a year left and when that year came and passed, the hellhounds took me away."

"Wow, long back story." During that story, I got up and sat next to him and I started playing with his fingers. "So you saved the world?"

"No, just the community."

"The world Dean. You're a hero, obviously." I lean up and kiss his cheek, my hand on his left. "And a damn good one."

"Glad you think so." He leans over and his eyes are closed. Then the light comes on.

"Oh I'm sorry guys, I just came to get a bottle. I've got something going back at my apartment," the bar maid, Jamie's friend, says.

"Oh it's cool, stay have a drink. I'd like to get to know this town a little bit better anyhow and what better person to ask than the bartender. Come on, have a drink with us."

"Oh alright." She sits across from us and I look at her name tag, it says Lucy. Alright, now I know her name. She shares her bottle of alcohol with us and we start to get tipsy, like really drunk. We start seeing four of everything and everything is spinning. Then Dean reaches over and punches Lucy in the face, knocking her to the ground. He pushes his way out of the booth and I fall in, very drunk and tired. I fall asleep.

* * *

When I wake up, I'm on a bed and in a cold room with concrete stone walls like an old castle, very medieval. Candles everywhere, there's cobwebs and spider webs. I see a spider on the wall above me and I scream, moving away from the bed and into the arms of Dracula.

"You wake," Dracula says. I turn and step back a couple steps. "The gown, it suits your beauty. Please, put it on." I look at it and it's white and long and silky.

"Where am I? What have you done with Dean?"

"Harker is resting else where. Please put on the gown and you may dine. We are having pizza." He gestures to the pizza and wine he has set up.

"What? What is wrong with you? You made up Lucy, right? Pretended to be Jamie's friend. Pretended to be nice to me."

"I need to know if you were the one."

"Then try talking to people. But instead you become this?"

"The gown..."

I get angry. "I don't want to play your stupid game!" I yell at him. "I just want to go home," I say quietly.

"Put on the gown!" He yells at me, making me jump. I reach over and take it from the hanger. I slip off my clothes when he leaves and pull it on. I have to admit, it fits nicely. "I scared you. You're the only one I don't want to scare," he tells me, his accent gone. "I just love the movies."

"They aren't real. You can't make them real."

"Real is being born this way. Different. Real is having your dad call you monster. It's the first time you hear the word. And he tries to beat you to death with a shovel." He starts a pity party for himself and I sit on the bed, not really caring but listening. I had a boyfriend that did this once. Where I would ask how his day went and he would go on and on about himself and how he doesn't want to go home to his family. It's not like they treated him badly, he just didn't like them.

"Do you ever think you're lonely because you kill people?"

"I kill people because I'm lonely." He pauses. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Dean? "Dean?" I shout. "Dean!" I scream. Dracula makes a fist and hits me with the back of it. It knocks me out.

* * *

I wake up and I hear more fighting. Oh goodness what did I get myself into with this hunting thing. I scramble off the bed when I see Dracula and Dean fight. I find the gun and when Dean's on the floor, I shoot Dracula, well the shapeshifter, in the upper back twice. He turns and is amazed that I shot him.

"And it was beauty that killed the beast," he says. "Perhaps this is how the movie should end." And I feel so weak after all that adrenaline that I drop the gun and fall to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Ella**

The next few hours, I'm guessing, I was out. I didn't come to till around eleven at night. Sam and Dean were both sitting on the bed watching over me, talking about the case and how well I did. It made me smile and Dean's the first to see it. His eyes go wide and he starts checking to see if anything is hurt. I'm on my left side, my face in the pillow.

"Are you alright, Ella?"

"Yeah. Adrenaline going away so quickly is what knocked me out." Sam holds his hand out and Dean gives him five dollars. "Did y'all make a bet?" I slap both of their arms.

Sam apologizes but Dean doesn't, which I've grown accustom to. Instead Dean asks, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes Dean." I sit up and Dean becomes angry. He turns away.

"I'm gonna kill him all over again."

"Why?" Dean walks out of the room to calm himself.

Sam speaks up. "You've got a nasty bruise on you face." He helps me stand up and helps me walk to the bathroom. I look in the mirror and wince.

"Nothing a little make up and an ice pack won't help. It'll be gone in a week."

"You don't bruise easily, Ella," Sam points out. "He hit you hard."

I look at Sam. "Did y'all see it?" He shakes his head. "Good. Dean would have gotten himself killed."

"Almost did. You saved our asses." That's when it hits me. I killed someone. Doesn't matter that it was a monster, I killed someone. Tears prick at my eyes and I bury my face in Sam's chest, well abdomen. He wraps his arms around me.

"I killed someone, Sam."

"Sh, you're going to be okay." His arm his wrapped around my back and his hand is holding my head to his stomach, letting me sob.

I shake my head. "No I'm not, Sam. None of this is okay. I killed someone today. How do you guys do it? How do you not feel the guilt eating away inside of you once you killed someone?"

"Ella, we've done this out entire lives. Besides, they aren't people. They're monsters, they kill innocent people Ella. They terrorize people and kill them just for a laugh. We save the lives of millions of people every day when we kill a monster. You killed that monster out of self defense and out of the defense of others. You saved Dean and I." He pulls back and holds my face in his hands, bending to get down onto my level of sight. "Do you know how much that means to us? We always save others but when someone saves us, it means a lot to us that someone cares enough to be a good person and protect us. You did the right thing tonight Ella."

I nod and I feel like a kid. I wipe away my tears, as does Sam. "Thank you Sam, for making me feel better."

"Of course. That's what friends do. Now go outside and calm my brother down. Lord knows I can't do it unless it's me that's hurt." I chuckle and nod. I give Sam one last hug before I walk out the door to find Dean. Which isn't hard to do. He's leaning on wall next to the right of the door. I lean on my right side, facing him.

"Hey Dean." No response. His arms are crossed and his eyes are closed. I sigh and untangle is arms. I slide myself under one of them and wrap it around myself. I snake my arms around his waist and I rest my head on his chest. "It's alright Dean. I'm okay. I'm safe now that I'm with you. Don't worry, alright?" His arm tightens as a sign that he heard me and is responding. I smile and close my eyes. "Let's go inside Dean. I'll even sleep in the same bed as you tonight, just to ease your mind."

He sighs and bends to kiss the top of my head. I untangle myself from him and lead him back inside. Sam sighs with relief and I push Dean onto his bed. I get my clothes and strip out of the gown the shapeshifter made me change into, while he was looking unfortunately. I come back out of the bathroom with shorts and a tank top on. I say good night to Sam and I crawl under the blankets with Dean.

Dean's arm is under my pillow again and I lay on it, facing him. His hand goes to my hip and the tips of his fingers rub softly along the edge of skin showing. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning, we have to leave. While we are walking through town square, Sam and Dean start talking, I'm quiet through the entire conversation between the two. Dean starts talking first.

"It feels good to be back on the job, doesn't it?"

"Yeah it does."

"Hero get's the girl," Dean starts, through his arm over my shoulders. "Monster gets the gank. All in all, happy ending with a happy ending no less."

"Real classy Dean."

"Hey, all I'm sayin' is the shifter man had a point, you know. It'd be nice if life was movie simple. Although if I turned life into a movie I wouldn't do this whole 'Abbott and Costello meet the monster' crap."

"Yeah, now I know what you'd pick."

Dean chuckles. "No you don't."

"Yeah I do."

"No, you don't. You don't."

"Porky's 2."

Dean is shocked. "What?"

"You heard me." Sam raises his eyebrow real fast and Dean turns.

"Lucky guess." He walks away. Sam and I laugh and follow.

* * *

A few days pass and we find a case. It's a difficult one but we get through it. Dean got infected with ghost sickness because he was being a dick and he was scared of everything and it was funny to watch him squirm but it also worried me because everyone else who had ghost sickness, died. I though Dean was going to die too. But Bobby came down and helped us. Though there was a part where Sam and I opened a locker and a cat came out, making Dean scream like a little girl. I laughed so hard and Sam just stared at him like 'are you serious right now?'

But we found another case today. We are on our way there right now. It's just one day before Halloween and this man died from razor blades in his larynx the day before. We get there and we check into a motel an change before we go visit the wife of the man who died.

"How many razor blades did they find?" I ask. Dean and Sam look around the kitchen for anything unusual.

"Two on the floor, one in his stomach, and one was stuck in his throat. He swallowed four of them. How's that even possible?" Dean looks in the oven, why I'm not sure. "Candy was never in the oven."

"We just have to be thorough, Mrs. Wallace."

"Did the police find any razors in the rest of the candy?" I ask, drawing her attention away from Dean.

"No. I mean, I don't know. I don't think so. I just, I can't believe it." I see Dean bend down and grab something from under the fridge. "You hear urban legends about this stuff but it actually happens?" He holds up a small bag about the size of a shrew and stuffs it in his pocket.

"More than you might imagine. Mrs. Wallace, did Luke have any enemies?"

"Enemy?" She sounds astounded, but I have to ask.

"Anyone who might have held a grudge against him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Co-workers, neighbors. I hate to say this but, maybe a woman?"

"Are you suggesting an affair?"

"Is it possible?"

She shocked that I would even ask about it. "No! No, Luke would never."

I look at and say, "I'm very sorry, we just have to consider all possibilities, even if it means asking about affairs. I didn't know your husband, Mrs. Wallace. I wouldn't know if it was possible that he could be having an affair."

"If someone wanted to kill my husband, don't you think they might find a better way than a razor in a piece of candy, he might eat?"

* * *

Sam and I end up back in the motel room while Dean goes to get something for all of us to eat.

"I didn't like her," I say throwing my jacket in my bag and taking my heels off. "She was rude."

"She was but her husband just died too." Sam looks at the insides of the bag.

"I don't care. She didn't have to be a bitch about it." I sit next to him on the small sofa in the room and ask, "what is that?"

"A hex bag. Witches use them when they want to curse someone to make them die. They use special ingredients specific to the curse. I'm still figuring out what these mean."

I tuck my feet under me. "Let me read that book. I'll find the ingredients for you. Does this at least have pictures to match it to?" Sam nods. "Good. What's the first piece you want me to find?" He holds it up and I look. It's pretty easy to find.

We do this for a half an hour then Dean walks in eating a piece of candy.

Sam chuckles half-heartedly. "Really? After that guy chokes down all those razor blades?"

"It's Halloween man."

"Yeah, for us every day is Halloween."

He sits on the arm rest that I'm leaning against. "Don't be a downer. Anything interesting?"

"Yeah, I'm actually good at research," I say.

"She is. But we figured out we are on a witch hunt. But this isn't you're typical hex bag."

"No?"

I speak now, "Goldthread. An herb that has been extinct for over two hundred years."

"And this is celtic. And we don't mean some new age knock off. Looks like the real deal, like 600 years old real."

"And that is the charred metacarpal bone of a newborn baby," I tell Dean. He pretend gags and Sam cringes. "Relax, it's at least a hundred years old."

"Like that makes it better? Witches man, so freaking sceevey."

"Yeah, but it takes a pretty powerful one to put a bag like this one together. More juice than we've ever dealt with before that's for sure."

"What about you finding anything on the victim?" I ask.

"Look at you getting into this hunting thing," Dean compliments. I smile and look interested in what he's about to tell me. "Luke Wallace, he was so vanilla that even vanilla seems spicy." I sigh. "I can't find any reason as to why he wants this guy dead."

* * *

That night we get a call about a drowned victim who also got her face boiled. There are at least ten eye witnesses, one of them being her best friend I guess. We walk in and I go off with Sam, see if I can get any hex bags.

Dean stops Sam and I and says, "I've got this one." I scoff.

"Two words, jail bait." Sam says. I smile to myself.

"I would never." I roll my eyes and wander with Sam to find a hex bag. Sam checks couch cushions and I hold them back for him. He finds one. I hold it up for Dean to see and he nods slightly.

* * *

We get back and Sam and I check what the hex bag contains. Same at the last. Dean is on Sam's laptop searching the vic's records and I read books with Sam to figure this hex bag nonsense. I lay on the couch while Dean sits at the table and Sam lays on his bed.

"I'm telling you two, both these vics are squeaky clean. There's no reason for wicked-bitch payback."

"Maybe because it's not about that," I say. Sam wanders over to me and reads what I point to him.

"Wow, insightful."

"Thank you for the sarcasm Dean. Maybe this witch isn't working a grudge maybe they're working a spell," I say. "Check this out, '_three blood sacrifices over three days, the last before midnight on the final day of the final harvest_.' Celtic calendar, final day of the final harvest is October thirty first."

"Halloween," Dean says.

"Exactly," I agree.

"Wow you are good at this research stuff. You and Sam should work together more often."

"Well I did get all of my research papers in two days earlier than everyone else did."

"Oh so you're the kid in school that I would hate and Sam would love."

I nod. "Yeah, pretty much. Sam and I would have been best friends." Dean gives me a thumbs up and strained smile. I give Sam the book and he keeps reading it. I go to Dean and close the laptop. I sit on his lap and kiss his cheek. "That better?" His right arm wraps around my waist to rest on my hip and the left arm does the same but from behind. He nods. "Good. Don't get jealous when I talk about other guys. It's going to happen. Besides, we aren't dating. It's a little silly if you get jealous."

"It looks like we are though. I mean you sitting on my lap, legs cross, arms around my shoulders."

"Your arms wrapped tightly around my hips. What is it with you and my hips anyhow?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's your hair. I do play with it a lot when we're close."

"Like now?" He nods.

"So what are the blood sacrifices for?" I try to get up but Dean's arms keep me down.

"If I'm right, this witch is summoning a demon. Not just any demon, Samhain, I think."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Dean," Sam starts, getting up and sitting in the seat across from Dean and I. "Samhain is the damn origin of Halloween. The celts believed that October thirty first, was the one night of the year the veil is thinnest between the living and the dead."

"And it was Samhain's night," I say. "Masks were put on to hide from him, sweets left on doorsteps to appease him, faces carved in the pumpkins to worship him."

Sam finishes our little fun fact of the day. "He was exorcised centuries ago."

"So even though Samhain took a trip downstairs, the tradition stuck?"

"Exactly, only now instead of demons and blood orgys, Halloween is all about kids, candy, and costumes," I say look at Dean when I said the first part. He always cringes when he hears something he doesn't like.

"Okay so some witch wants to raise Samhain and take back the night?"

"That's one way of putting it. But Dean, this is serious." I tell him.

"I know this is serious,"

"We're talking heavy weight witchcraft. This ritual can only be preformed every 600 years."

"And the 600 year marker rolls around?"

I take this one. "Tomorrow night."

"Naturally. Sure is a lot of death and destruction for one demon."

"Because he has company. Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own."

"Raising what exactly?"

"Dark, evil crap and lot's of it. And they follow him around like the freaking pied piper."

"So we're talkin' ghosts." Sam and I nod. "Zombies," I cringe but nod. "You don't like zombies," Dean points out about me.

"Deathly afraid. I can't watch movies with zombies in them because I won't sleep for several nights in a row. I'll be staying up on energy drinks and coffee, because I'm so afraid of them. My dad had to put a lock on my door and my closet door and had to seal any way of zombies crawling in, to get me to sleep. Soon once I forgot about it all, he unsealed everything."

"Zombies can punch through doors and open them, you know," Dean says.

I cover my ears. "Oh don't tell me that!" I slap his shoulder. "Do you want me to super glue this room shut? Cause I will."

"I don't really feel like paying a fee for super gluing the room shut, so no. I don't want you to do that."

"Then shut up. Let's focus back on this case."

"So the raising topic, it only just starts with ghosts and ghouls. The sucker keeps on going. By night's end, we're talking every awful thing, we've ever seen. Everything we fight. All in one place."

"It's going to be a slaughterhouse."

* * *

That night, I go to the couch and curl up in the corner to watch a movie on TV, unfortunately it's all ghosts and zombies. I do find '_Charlie Brown's Halloween Special_' on, so I watch that. Dean comes and sits next to me and asks what I'm watching.

"Charlie Brown."

"I loved those movies when I was a kid."

"Me too. When I don't want to watch something scary, the night before Halloween, I'll watch this." Dean's arm is on the top of the couch, like every man does. Sometimes I'll even find myself doing it. "So I have a question."

"Shoot."

"So it pertains to when the witnesses attacked,"

"Okay."

"That night, when I fell asleep, I was sleeping and it was peaceful but I thought I woke up and you were there and then so was Castiel, the angel, and we got up and started talking to him. He said it was one of the 66 seals and last one to be unlocked, frees Lucifer." I take a deep breath. "Did you happen to have the same dream?"

"I think so. I don't think Sam did. I think it was just us. He didn't say anything."

"Well I heard you talking to him about it the next morning so that's when I thought, maybe he had the same dream and then this got me thinking, since Samhain is such a powerful demon that maybe this is another seal."

"You know, it sounds like it could be. Do you think Castiel is going to stop by after?"

"Maybe. I just want to get on with our lives and not have to deal with Castiel and angels and demons."

"Don't we all?"

* * *

The next day Sam and I are back at the motel researching and Dean is out watching Mrs. Wallace's house. Sam does call him and listens to Dean complain. Till Dean says something. Sam tells him to come back when he has more information.

"So what's going on with you and my brother?" Sam asks when he hangs up the phone.

"I have no idea. I tried moving off of his lap last night before you came over but he held me down. He isn't making a move, I'm not going to make a move. I just want some information about it but I don't think it's going to work like that. Besides, neither of us needs to be in a relationship especially with all of the worrying the other is going to do and the stress, one of us will get hurt."

"He worries about you now. You worry about him now. Being in a relationship will just take some stress build up off your shoulders. Think about the good times when you're not hunting. You'll give Dean breaks from hunting every once in a while and he'll live longer. It'll give him something good to come back to every night. He wouldn't even look at another girl. I'd be okay with it."

"Really?"

"Yes." I smile.

* * *

"So?" Sam asks when Dean walks through the door.

"Tracy is the Wallace's babysitter. Told me she never even heard of Luke Wallace."

"Interesting look for a centuries old witch."

"Well if you were an old hag and you could pick any costume to come back in wouldn't you go for a hot cheerleader?" Dean asks, falling onto the bed next to me. "I would." Sam and I give him equal confused and disgusted looks.

"Well Tracy's not as wholesome as she looks. Did some digging, apparently she got into a violent altercation with one of her teachers. She got suspended from school." Sam and Dean get up and get their suits on. They go to the school and talk to the teacher she got in trouble with.

* * *

Two hours later, I hear Sam and Dean talking to a kid about candy. I roll my eyes when I hear Dean ate it all. Luckily I got some piece of my own. I open the door with a handful of candy.

"Come here," I say to the kid after closing the motel room door. "Sorry about my friend. He likes candy too, but I think he's had enough, don't you?"

"Yeah!" The boy smiles.

"Happy Halloween," I tell him smiling and I put the handful of candy in his bucket. "Dean you need to stop being so mean to people."

"Who are you?" We hear Sam say.

"Shit. Sam! Sam wait! That's Castiel. The angel He's been here for a few minutes already." I shove Sam's gun down and Dean walks in standing in front of Sam with me. "I was just about to get introduced to him when you two came back and you refused that poor kid candy. That's not nice, Dean."

"Hello Sam," Castiel says.

"Oh my God. Er, uh, I didn't mean to, sorry. It's an honor. Yeah, I've heard a lot about you." Sam holds his hand out for Castiel to shake. He does, eventually.

"And I you. Sam Winchester, the boy with demon blood. Ella was just talking about the two of you. I'm glad to hear you've ceesed your extracurricular activities."

"Let's keep it that way," the man in the back says.

"Yeah, okay chuckles. Who's your friend?"

"The raising of Samhain, have you stopped it?"

"Why?" Dean asks.

"Dean have you located the witch?"

"Yes, we've located the witch."

"And it the witch dead?"

"No, but we know who it is," I say. "Please sit everyone. Let's have this conversation at the table like adults. At least some of us are adults." I say meaning me and the angels. The boys sit and Castiel but not his friend.

"Apparently the witch knows who you are too." Castiel walks over to the nightstand and picks up the hex bag that he already showed me. "I found this inside the wall of your room. If we hadn't found it, surely one or all of you would be dead." He says, looking at me. "Do you two know where the witch is now?"

"We're working on it."

"That's unfortunate."

"Why do you care?" I step on Dean's foot. He winces and pinches the back of my arm.

"The raising of Samhain is one of the 66 seals." I look at Dean. He looks at me. We knew it.

"So this is about that and your buddy Lucifer."

"Lucifer is no friend of ours."

"Just an expression," Dean clarifies.

"Lucifer cannot rise. The breaking of the seal must be prevented at all costs."

"Okay, great. Well now that your here you can tell us where the witch is, we'll gank her and everybody goes home."

"We are not omniscient. This witch is very powerful. She's cloaked even our methods."

"Okay well we already know who she is, so if we work together.."

"Enough of this," the man peering out the window says.

"Who are you and why should I care?" Dean asks rudely, standing up. I don't even care anymore.

"This is Uriel. He's what you might call, a specialist."

"What kind?" Dean asks curious. "What are you gonna do?"

"You," Castiel says looking at me. "All three of you need to leave this town immediately."

"Why?"

"Because we're about to destroy it."

"You can't do that!" I say to Castiel. "You're plan is to smite the whole friggin' town?"

"We're out of time, Ella. This witch has to die, the seal must be saved."

"There are a thousand people here Castiel," I tell him.

"1,214 to be exact." Uriel says.

"And you're willing to kill them all?"

"This isn't the first time I've purified a city."

"Look," Castiel starts. "I understand this is regrettable. We have to hold the line. Too many seals have broken already."

"You screw the pooch on some seals. So now this town pay the price?" I say.

"It's the lives of one thousand against the lives of six billion. There's a bigger picture here."

"Right, cause you're bigger picture kind of guys." I use lots of sarcasm in that statement.

"Lucifer cannot rise," Castiel says getting in my face. "He does then hell rises with him. Is that something that you're willing to risk?"

"Castiel, I care that hell will rise if Lucifer does, but think of how many lives will be at risk if you destroy this town then Lucifer does rise anyway." I'm getting in his face. I don't care if he's an angel. "There's always other possibilities. You need to see that too. I'm willing to die with these people. I do not care what you have to say. Kill me, kill me and a thousand others right now Castiel, do it!" I yell at him.

"The plan is just, Ella. It's only just if you and Sam and Dean aren't here. I will send you some place else."

"Sorry, boys looks like the plans have changed. We will kill her, in fact, I'll kill her myself, and y'all can leave. Now."

"You think you can stop us? You pathetic mudmonkey."

"No, but if you're going to smite this whole town, because you're going to have to smite us with it," Dean says, pissed off like I am. I smile, the boys are on board with my plan.

"I figure since you went through all this trouble to snatch Dean out of hell, that he's worth something to the man upstairs. So go ahead, smite us, smite us all. See how he digs that."

"I will drag both of you out of here myself," Uriel says.

"You'll have to kill us, then we're back to the same problem. I mean, come on, you're gonna wipe out a whole town for one little witch?" I turn back to Castiel. "We can do this. We will find this witch and we will stop the summoning." I make eye contact with Castiel.

"Castiel!" Uriel says loudly.

"Enough." Our eyes stay locked on each other. "I suggest you move quickly."

I keep eye contact as I say, "thank you." Uriel leaves and Sam and Dean walk out of the door, knowing I'll stay by myself to help by them not worrying about me.

"You're worth something too. Why do you think you woke up where Dean was buried? God wants you with these boys. I put you there when I got Dean out of hell. You've got a memory I've blocked from your mind, to prove it." Then he disappears.

"Seriously Castiel! Get your ass back here!" I yell at thin air. Then I remember everything that happened the night I disappeared.

_"Who are you?" I ask, frightened._

_ "Castiel, I am an angel of the lord. Please come with me."_

_ "No. I don't even know who you are. Why are you here?"_

_ "You're special and you're needed with the Winchester boys. I've been watching you for years, you've got just what we need to keep Dean on track, he'll fall for you in a matter of days, he'll protect you, he'll fight along side you. You'll become the Winchester's and Mr. Singer's prized possession and they'll love you and protect you. I'll protect you and you'll forget about the life you had here, except for your family, for the life of hunting with Sam and Dean. Good luck." His fingers touch my forehead and I'm out like a light._

I can't believe it. Why did he share that with me? Shouldn't that of been kept a secret?

* * *

The next day, Dean and I are putting our bags in the trunk when he stops me from leaving to go back inside the motel room.

"I need to confined in you, I guess."

"Okay, go for it, I'm here." I take his hand and rub my thumb across the back of it.

"Sam used his 'powers' again last night."

"After he said he wouldn't?" Dean nods. "Did you ask him not to?"

"Yeah, he promised he wouldn't and he would just use the knife but the knife didn't have the desired effect. He started to use his mind to send Samhain back to hell. It was bad, he was shaking, his nose was bleeding, his heart rate went up a lot. he had to use extra strength to do it. I was scared that I was going to lose my brother for a second time."

"You weren't Dean, not if I had anything to do about it." I pull him into a hug. "You'll be alright. I'm sure Sam won't do that anymore. You've got nothing to worry about. If he does, I'll personally talk to him. Well I'm sure there wont be much talking done on my part but I'll talk to him." He grips me tighter, his face buried in my shirt. "Come on, let's go to the park. Maybe a little time away will do you good. It's just right around the corner." He nods and lets go of me. I take his hand in mine and we go to the park.

When we get there, we find an empty bench and sit down. We watch the kids play and run around. Then I see Castiel sitting on my left side while Dean is on my right.

"Let me guess," Dean says. "You're here for the I told you so."

"No."

"Well good cause I'm really not that interested." I grip Dean's hand a bit tighter and rub my thumb back and forth across his hand.

"I am not here to judge you Dean."

"Then why are you here?"

"Our orders,"

"I've had enough of your orders."

"Our orders were not to stop the summoning of Samhain. It was to do whatever you and Ella told us to do."

"Me?"

"Ella?" Dean and I say at the same time.

"Yes Ella too."

"You're orders were to follow our orders?" Dean asks calmly.

"It was a test. To see how you would perform under battlefield conditions you might say."

"It was a witch, not the Tet Offensive. So we uh failed your test, huh?" Dean asks. "I get it. But you know what, if you were to wave that magic time traveling wand of yours and we had to do it all over again,"

"We'd make the same call," I finish for Dean.

"Cause I don't know what's going to happen when these seals are broken, hell I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But what I do know is, this here, these kids, the swings, trees, all of it, is still here because of my brother, Ella, and me."

"You two misunderstand me. I'm not like you think. I was praying that you two would choose to save the town."

"You were?" I ask skeptical.

"These people, they're all my father's creations. They're works of art. And yet, even though you stop Samhain, the seal was broken and we are one step closer to hell on earth for all creation, that's not an expression. It's literal. Dean, you of all people should appreciate what that means. Can I tell you two something if you promise not to tell another soul?"

"Yes," I say.

"I'm not, uh, a hammer as you say. I have questions. I, I have doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore. Whether you two passed or failed here. But, in the coming months you two will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on you're shoulders, both of you. I truly don't."

"Wait, Castiel." I say. He stays for a second longer. "Why did you do that yesterday?"

"Because you should know."

"But why, I thought that should have stay a secret?"

"You know now, Ella. Embrace it." Then he's gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Ella**

Off to Washington! Not DC, sadly. Always wanted to go. No, we are going to Washington State. Concrete, Washington. It's on the other side of the Cascade Mountains and I'm not sure how the Impala is going to get through it, but we'll find out in around five hours, we just passed Moses Lake. Dean is in the back with me, except he's sleeping and I'm awake, slowly falling asleep. I woke up when we hit Coeur D'Alene in Idaho. I rest my head on Dean's shoulder and makes brief eye contact with Sam's in the mirror before I close my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

I don't wake till we get to Concrete in the morning and Dean wakes me up. He kisses the top of my head and says, "Get up El. I know you like laying on me, but we've got a case."

"Yeah a case that involves women in showers."

"You can be the test dummy and go take a shower in there. See if the ghost haunts you."

"You really want a ghost looking at me, naked when you haven't even seen me naked?"

"If it's for the case, wear a towel, if not then no."

"I'd do it for the case if you were actually serious." I get out of the car and put my bag in the motel room that Sam just walked into.

"So, I'm going to talk to that woman at the chinese place in town," Sam tells Dean and I.

"We will go check out the showers," Dean says. We drop Sam off at the chinese place and we go to the house. "Well, go take a shower."

"No Dean. Just give me the EMF and I'll be back down later."

"If you come out with wet hair, I'm gonna be pissed that you didn't invite me in."

"It's a woman's shower Dean, woman's. Not man's, not woman's and man's. Just woman's shower."

"So? We're rebels."

"Sure Dean." I get out and slam the door. I walk in and go upstairs to the women's shower room. I turn it on like Dean showed me how and I walk around, not finding anything. Maybe I should take a shower for the sake of this investigation. I go down the stairs, and nothing there either. I turn it off and go back out to the car. "Nothing," I say as I lean against the car. "I thought about taking a shower in there but decided I didn't want some ghost to see me naked." Dean chuckles next to me.

"Alright, we need to wait for Sam."

"Hey do you think that after this case, if we could go say hello to my grandparents?"

"All the way in Kansas, no."

"No I mean here in Washington. It's four hours away. It's near Tacoma."

"Alright I guess we can. Aren't you worried about them telling your folks that you've been with two big burly men these past two months?"

I shake my head. "No. If anything, my grandfather is dead by now, since I haven't seen them in over ten years and my grandma will be quite smitten with you two." Dean smiles. "Hey no sweet talkin' my grandma, let Sam do that. Where is he any how?"

"Not here, which is weird. That chinese place, Lucky Chen's, isn't that far."

"There he is."

"Good."

"Anything?" Sam asks.

"No EMF in the bathroom or anywhere else. This house is clean," Dean says for me.

"Yeah, not surprised. Got the feeling back there that crazy pushed Ms. Armstrong down the stairs."

"Gotta tell ya, I'm pretty disappointed." Sam and I scoff.

"You wanted to save naked women," I tell him.

"Damn right I wanted to save some naked women." We walk to the dock and several kids run passed us. And Dean, being the kind of person that he is, shouts, "Run Forest, run!" I laugh.

"Sorry Dean, but I don't think anything's goin' on around here," Sam says. We see and hear two people talking about an attack in the woods.

"Something's goin' on," I tell them. We walk toward them.

"Don't think it could have been a bear?"

"I know a damn bear track when I see one, this thing didn't leave bear tracks, its feet were huge! It was big foot Hal, _the_ bigfoot."

"Did you say bigfoot?" I ask walking up to them. "I've heard some stories about bigfoot up here. Can you show me where the tracks are?" I ask sweetly.

"Yes I can." He tells me where it is and the boys and I leave. While we are walking through the forest Dean starts asking questions to the rest of us.

"What the hell is going on in this town? First a ghost that's not real and now a bigfoot sighting?"

"Well every hunter worth his salt, knows bigfoot's a hoax."

"Maybe somebody's pumping LSD in the towns water supply." Then we see it. A bigfoot track. Several of them. "Okay, what do you suppose made that?"

"That is a uh, big foot." We follow the tracks and it leads us to a bridge and a liquor store. We cross the small bridge and find more bigfoot tracks on the wood planks leading up to the liquor store. The door to go inside, is leaning at an angle, off of it's hinges. We walk in and the floor is dirty with spilled products everywhere.

"So what, bigfoot breaks into a liquor store jonesing for some hooch? Ameritto and Irish Cream, he's a girl-drink drunk." I slap Dean's arm for that.

"Hey check this out Dean," I say.

"He took the whole porno rack?" I lift up the scruff of hair I see. "Well I'll say it again, what the hell is going on in this town?" We walk out and sit on the bench, well Sam and Dean do. They're so big they take up the whole friggin' thing. They think and think and Dean finally says. "I got nothing."

"It's gotta be a joke right? Some big ass mother in a gorilla suit?" I say.

"Or it's a bigfoot. Maybe he's some kind of alcoholo, porn addict? Kind of like a deep wood Duchovny." Dean smirks and when he sees Sam's bitch face out of the corner of his eye, he's straight-faced again.

"Dean, those don't exist." This little girl rides by on her bike with a large case of stuff and a magazine pops out. We walk up and Dean picks it up off the ground. It's a _Busty Asian Beauties_ porno magazine.

"A little young for _Busty Asian Beauties_. We walk around and find her walking away with an empty bike. We find the bin and we decide to follow her home, creepy I know. Not my idea.

"What is a_ Harry and the Henderson's _Deal?" Sam asks as we walk up to the door. I knock and the girl opens the door.

"Hello?"

"Hello, could we... You know what, are your parents home?" I ask.

"Nope."

"Nope, alright, uhm, have you seen a really, really, uh fury.." Dean starts to say but the little girl cuts him off, looking concerned.

"Is he in trouble?" The little girl asks.

"No," Sam says. "No, not at all." Sam starts to stutter and I cover for him.

"We just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"He's my teddy bear. I think he's sick," She whispers as if the bear could hear her.

Dean kind of stutters too. "Wow, uh, amazing. Cause you know what, we are teddy bear doctors." He says holding up his health department badge as do Sam and I.

"Really? Can you please take a look at him?"

"Sure, yeah." The boys say at the same time.

"Can you show us where he is?" I ask. She turns and we follow.

"He's in my bedroom, he's pretty grumpy." She knocks on the door. "Teddy? There are some nice doctors here to see you." She opens the door and the teddy bear is large and turns to us after taking a drink from a bottle of alcohol and he's watching TV.

"Close the friggin' door." He tells her. My eyes go wide. I look at Sam and Dean and theirs are wide too.

"See what I mean?" The little girl says when the door closes. "All I ever wanted was a teddy. Which is big, real, and talked. But now he's sad all the time. Not ouch sad, but ouch in the head sad. Does weird stuff, and smells like a bus."

"Look little girl," Dean starts to say.

But she cuts him off. "Audrey."

"Audrey, how exactly did your teddy become real?"

"I wished for it."

"Wished?"

"At the wishing well." I walk forward and open the door.

The teddy starts talking to me. "Look at this. Can you believe this crap?" He says pointing to the TV and holding a bottle of alcohol in the same hand.

"Not really," I say.

"It is a terrible world. Why am I here?" He shouts.

"For tea parties!" The little girl says sternly back.

He chuckles. "Tea parties, is that all there is?" He starts crying. I walk out and close the door.

"Audrey, give us a second, okay?" I ask. She nods and we walk down the hall a little bit. "Are we... Should we... Are we gonna kill this teddy bear?" I whisper to Dean.

"How? Huh? We shoot it, burn it?"

"I don't know. Both?" I suggest.

"How do we know that's going to work? I don't want some giant flaming teddy on our hands," Dean counters.

"Besides I don't really get the feeling that the bear is really the core problem here," Sam says. "Audrey, where are your parents?"

"Mom wished they were in Bali so I think they're in Bali."

"Well I really hate to break this to you, but your bear is sick," Sam says. "He's got..."

"Lollipop disease," I cover again for Sam. He agrees. "It's not uncommon for a bear his size see, it's really contagious so is there someone, maybe a grown up that maybe you could stay with while we treat him?" I ask.

"Mrs. Hurley lives down the street."

"Perfect, good. We'd like you to stay there for a few days, okay?"

"Okay." She agrees.

"Oh and uh Audrey? Where is this wishing well?" Dean asks.

* * *

Lucky Chen's, why am I not surprised? We walk in and look inside of it. There are lots of coins. How many people's wishes came true?

"Think it works?" I ask.

"Gotta better explanation for Teddy back there?"

"There's one way to find out," Dean says getting a coin out of his pocket.

"What are you gonna wish for?" Sam asks.

"Sh, not supposed to tell." Then he throws it in.

"Somebody order an Italian foot long with jalapeño?"

"That'd be me," Dean says raising his hand. Sam and I are shocked. "I think it works dude. That was pretty specific."

"The teddy bear, the sandwich."

Dean puts his sandwich down and gets out the newspaper he was reading while I was searching for EMF. "I'm guessing this."

"I'm guess that," I say looking at two people holding hands, the girl was pretty and the man was attractive in his own way.

"Well that definitely goes on the list. What are we supposed to do? Stop people's wishes from coming true? That sounds like a douchey thing to do," Dean points out.

"Maybe," I say.

"But come on man, when does something like this not come without a price tag?" Sam asks. "And usually a deadly one."

"I don't know, it's a damn good sandwich." Dean takes a bite and Sam just looks at him. "Alright fine, we'll put a hold on the wishing till we figure out what the hell is going on."

"Uh gentleman, gentleman, and woman I'm sorry. We don't allowed people to eat outside food in here."

"Well I'm certainly not going to eat the inside food here," Dean says getting out his badge from earlier, Sam and I do to. "Health department." The owner starts freaking out. "You my friend, have a rat infestation. We're going to have to shut this place down for emergency hazard code, 56C."

"Rats?" Dean nods. He clears the place out and we check the fountain first.

"Typical fountain plaster budah. Nothing I can see."

"Yes, nothing. We keep a clean place in here."

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to leave during the preliminary investigation. Thank you," Sam says.

"Oh come on, aren't you a bit tempted?" Dean flicks the quarter up and Sam catches it.

Sam chuckles. "No, wouldn't be real. I wouldn't trust it."

"I don't know Sam. That teddy seemed pretty real."

"Come on, you could wish yourself back before it all started. Think about it, you could be some big yuppie lawyer with a nice car, white picket fence."

"That's not what I'd wish for?"

"Seriously?"

"It's too later to go back to our old lives Dean. I'm not that guy any more."

"All right, well what then? What would Sammy wish for?" I ask.

"Lillith's head on a plate, bloody."

"Okay," Dean says. "Wait, what is that?" He bends to move some coins from it.

"Some kind of old coin," Sam says. "I don't recognize the markings. What about you, Ella?" I lean down and it doesn't look familiar.

I shake my head. "Nope." Dean tries to pick it up. "Lift with your legs Dean," I tell him standing up from my crouched place. He looks back at me and smirks. He tries to pick it up again.

"Is that little mother welded on there? Time for the crowbar."

They come back in with a crowbar and a 4/16 and a bag full of stuff.

"Hey, hey, what is this? You're gonna break my fountain!" The owner says.

"Now sir, I don't want to slap you with a 4/16 but I will," Sam threatens. He walks away peering over his shoulder. "Alright, thanks." Dean tries several ways, one of which breaks his tool. "Coins magical," Sam points out.

"Boy, I'd say. I think its hoodoo is protecting the well. I don't think we can destroy this."

"Here," Sam says, handing my a piece of paper with the coin drawn into it. "You two gotta look into this."

"Where are you going?" Dean asks.

"Something just occurred to me." He leaves and I pull the crow bar out from under the coin and I grab Dean's hand and drag him with me outside. We start walking to the motel when we see the same kids running as the ones on the dock. Except this time the kid that was being chased is the chaser. We watch them as the chaser stops.

"You got a problem, mister?" The kid asks.

"What? No." The kid runs passed. Dean's stomach starts rumbling. I look at him. I turn to face him, unclasping our hands and he puts it on his stomach. "Ella, I'm gonna hurl. Let's get back to the motel."

* * *

I rush to the motel with him and he goes straight for the bathroom. I get a washcloth and run it under cool water. I ring it out and I dab Dean's forehead with it. Luckily the toilet is right next to the bathtub so I sit on the tub's edge. He lays his head on my lap when he isn't throwing up.

I read books and when I find it I tell Dean. "So the coin, it's Babylonian. The wishes turn bad." I comb my fingers through his short hair. "You'll be okay, Dean." He moves his head to throw up again. Then Sam comes in the room.

"Dean! Ella!"

"Gotta go sweetie. Hold this on your forehead when you aren't throwing up, okay?" I hand him the washcloth and meet Sam outside of the bathroom. "The wishes turn bad, Sam. Very bad. You're brother got food poisoning."

"The sandwich huh?" I nod.

"The coin though, it's Babylonian. It's cursed. Found some fragments of a legend. The serpent is Tiamat, which is the Babylonian God of primordial chaos." I get Dean a bottle of water. He comes out with the wash cloth in his hand. I unscrew the lid off of the bottle and hand it to him. I take the cloth and dab his forehead while I continue. "I guess their priests were working some serious black magic."

"They made the coin?" I nod.

"Yes. You'll be alright, go lay down. I'll be over there in a second." He nods and does just that. I screw the lid back on the water bottle and put it on the night stand. "They made it to sow the seeds of chaos. Whoever tosses the coin in the well, makes a wish, and turns on the well," I tell him sitting on the edge of his bed. "And it starts granting wishes to all comers."

"But the wishes get twisted. You ask for a talking teddy.."

"You get a bipolar nut job."

"And Dean gets food poisoning."

I nod. "This coin has turned more than one town upside down for centuries. It's even wiped a few off the map. I mean one person gets their wish it's trouble but when everybody gets their wish..."

"Chaos. Any way to stop it?"

"One way, we gotta find the first wisher. Whoever dropped the coin in and made the first wish is the only one who can pull it back out and reverse the wishes. So for now, we got a couple of nut-so dreams comin' true, but once the word get's out about the well, things are just going to get crazier and crazier." I get up and go to Dean. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better."

"That's good." I grab the wash cloth and run it under cool water again. I ring it out and go back to Dean, dabbing his face with it.

* * *

"You take such good care of him," Sam says to me, when Dean's asleep for the night, his head on my stomach.

"I do?" I ask lifting my head to look at Sam, my fingers not stopping their movement through his hair.

"Yes. I wouldn't do that and he's my brother. I'd let him just sleep it off. You're coddling him and I think he loves it." He chuckles. I lift Dean's head and I put a couple of pillows under his head so it's the same height as my stomach. I pull a chair over to Sam and sit facing him.

"You know, when I woke up next to Dean's grave, I didn't know what was going on. Then just last week when Castiel visited, he gave me my memories back from the day I was taken from my room. It was him who took my to Dean's grave and he told me that I was I guess for Dean. He told me that I would keep him on track and that I'll be your guys', and Bobby's, prized possession and that y'all would protect me and love me. And he told me that Dean would fall for me in a matter of days. How weird is that, like really? How can he see that? Dean and I are nothing alike."

"Well you kind of are in a way. Sure, you're short and he's tall, you've got red hair and he's got blondish, but you two talk the same way. Both got green eyes. You both are determined to do the right thing. You think alike, when you two were yelling at the angels it was about the same thing. You both wanted to save the town."

"I guess in some ways. But why would Castiel tell me something like that?"

"To get you to realize that maybe you have the same feelings for Dean as he does you."

"I have fallen for him, but I don't know if I could do a relationship. I haven't had a successful boyfriend since senior year of high school and that lasted only six months. I've got issues. Committment issues."

"How?"

I turn to Dean and find him breathing hard on the bed. "Dean wake up," I tell him. He sits up fast.

"What? I'm up?"

"Sleep well?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, tan, rested, and ready." He takes a swig of alcohol.

"Dean, come on man, you think I can't see it." He turns to Sam, confusion on his face. "The nightmares, the drinking. Ella can see it to. We're with you 24/7. We know something goin' on."

"Sam, please."

"Uriel wasn't lying but you are. You remember hell, don't you?"

"What do you want from me, huh?"

"The truth Dean." I stand and walk to the bathroom to get changed before these two start fighting. "I mean, I'm your brother and she's the closest thing you've got to a girlfriend or something along the lines of a special relationship. I want you to talk to me. Talk to her."

"Careful what you wish for."

"Cute Dean."

"Come on, can we stow the couples therapy? We're on a job. I wanna work. What do ya got? Please?" I come out of the bathroom with shorts on and a tank top, with no bra unlike normal. I lean against the door frame, my hand holding me up instead of my shoulder.

"We got teddy bear, lottery guy, invisible pervert guy. They all must have wished sometimes in the last two weeks. But who wished first and how are we supposed to know who else, and who wished for what, when." Dean's eyes are trained on my body. I saunter toward them and I sit in the chair across from Sam. "But it helps when they announce it in the paper." I realize. I snatch the paper out of Dean's hands and look at it. "It goes back a month." I point to the engagement of the two we witnessed in Lucky Chen's.

"Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hopelyn Casey have announced their surprise engagement."

"Ah true love," Dean says, hovering over me. I look up and reach up, cupping his cheek.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better." I nod.

"Best lead we got," Sam says when I pull my hand away from Dean's cheek.

* * *

Sam and Dean go for a surprise visit to Wesley's house and try to convince him to take the coin out of the well. They do come back and get me to get the coin melted. Dean and I sit on the dock, while Sam get's it melted.

"Are you mad at me to for keeping hell a secret from you too?"

"No. Just because Sam said I'm the closest thing you got to a girlfriend doesn't mean that it's my business. I don't ask questions for a reason. If you want to tell me something, go for it. It'll be my business when you decide to make it like that."

"And this is why we get along so well. Because you don't meddle." He takes my hand in his. "When people meddle, nothing good comes from it. Someone always gets hurt." I nod.

"You got that right. If you want me to know something go for it, unless it involves my safety, then always tell me or else I will get pissed and I'll stab you in the arm. Don't lie to me either, that's just not good to do to anyone."

"Isn't the saying, stab in the back?"

"Well I revised it and made it better."

"All right, I can roll with that." I look past Dean and I see Audrey waving at us with her parents burnt to a crisp, walking by. We wave back. Sam walks up.

"Well uh, coins melted down. Shouldn't cause anymore problems." We stand, our hands still clasped.

"Audrey's parents are back from Bali, looks like all the wishes are gone. And so are we," Dean says. "Oh except we gotta go visit Grandma Jackson. Ella called her and told her we were coming down."

"Oh and where does your grandma live, Ella?"

"Gig Harbor, it's small but expensive. It's near Tacoma, y'all know where that is, right?" Dean nods. "Good. Once you get on The Narrows Bridge, I'll lead you there."

* * *

Around four hours and one heart to heart talk between Sam and Dean later, we pull into my grandma's driveway.

"Here we are." I get out of the car and go to the front door. I wait for Sam and Dean to catch up and when they do, I knock. She opens the door and I hug her. My grandma is in her late seventies, seventy-eight or nine, I think.

"Grandma, it's so good to see you!"

"You too sweetheart. Come on it. You too, boys." We walk in behind her and she leads us to the kitchen where the boys sit on the bar stools and I lean against Dean. "You two must be Sam and Dean. I'm grandma."

"Yes y'all can call her grandma." Dean smiles.

"While I was waiting for you to arrive, I made pie." Dean looks at me then back at my grandma, he's smiling.

"You're awesome, grandma!" She smiles at him as she sets a plate down in front of him. Mhmm. Apple.

"Would you like a piece too?" She asks Sam.

"Sam would love one, grandma." I tell her. "You need to eat a little more than just rabbit food. Great, now I'm talking like Dean."

"So what brings you three by?" She asks. My grandma is a little old woman. Strong and when she's mad everyone runs for the hills because we all know she can beat our asses.

"Just wanted to say hi, see how the fam-bam was doing."

"Oh Honey," Her voice has immediate sorrow in it. "You didn't hear? I've been calling for days."

"My phone is at home. I got a new one. What's going on grandma?" I hear Sam and Dean push their plates away and I can feel, Dean getting defensive. There's a pit in my stomach and it's gnawing away at me. "Tell me, please!"

"Your father, sweetheart, he, he died." The pit in my stomach moves to my throat.

"No!" I shout, my legs giving out. Dean is right there to catch me as I fall.

"Oh Honey, I'm so sorry." She cooes. I cry and sob and wail. My dad was my life and now he's dead. "I wish he wasn't too. I know how close you two were before you disappeared."

"How did he die?" Sam asks for me.

"Heart attack. The doctors said that he was too stressed, probably because poor Ella disappeared, and he had a heart attack that ultimately killed him."

In my heart, I know who I hate. It's not the Winchesters for keeping and taking me with them on hunts, but Castiel, the angel. He's the one who took me away from my dad. At least Sam let me make a phone call. I got to hear his voice one last time before he died but I would do anything to say good-bye.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Ella**

"Hey," Sam says. We were trying to scam some guy into giving us his money at a bar playing pool but it soon failed when Sam saw Ruby and Dean wandered over.

"You got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me," Dean says behind me suddenly.

"I just have some info and then I'm gone."

"What is it?"

"I'm hearing a few whispers."

"Great, demon whisperers. That's reliable." Dean really hates this girl."

"A girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter egg hunt."

"Why? Who is she?" I ask. "Ella, by the way."

"I know who you are. Ruby. But I have no idea who she is. But I'm thinking that she's important. Cause the order is to capture her, alive. I just figure that whatever the deal is you might want to find this girl before the demons do."

"Look maybe we should check it out," Sam says.

"Actually we're working a case but thanks."

"What case?"

"We've got leads, big leads."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah well it sure aint goose chasin' after some chick, who for all we know doesn't even exist, just because she's important."

"I'm just delivering the news. Do whatever you want with it. Far as I'm concerned, I told you. I'm done."

"Wait, wait, wait. This hospital she escaped from, it got a name?"

* * *

And we are on the road, which is my least favorite part about hunting now, because I get to sit and think about everything because my dad is dead. The funeral was a couple of days ago and for right now, I'm all tear-ed out. I have yet to see Castiel but I've cursed him under my breath several times, wishing he would come so I could yell at him but he never does. Maybe he feels bad or know what might have actually happened.

* * *

Sam and Dean go to the hospital while I wait in the motel. It's a bitch getting sidelined, but I understand why they did it. They don't want me hurt. I'm on research for now, which is fine. I'm contributing a lot to the case. Although in the middle of the day, they end up coming to get me at the motel.

"Come on, it's time to get back on the horse. We need to find Anna and we know where she is," Dean tells me.

"Okay," I get up and get in the Impala.

"So I was thinking," Sam starts. "That maybe she would feel safer, if you were there with her to show her that we are the good guys," Sam tells me. I nod.

* * *

When we get to the church, we go in and Sam has his gun raised and Dean has the knife in his back pocket.

"Ella," Sam whispers at me. He gestures slightly to the other side of the room. I think it's Anna. He puts his gun away and we walk over.

"Anna," I call out. "We aren't going to hurt you, I promise. We are here to help. I'm Ella, this is Sam and his brother Dean. They've both just helped me with a traumatic experience. Let them help you with yours."

"Sam? Not Sam Winchester."

"Uh, yeah," I reply. She walks out.

"And you're Dean. _The_ Dean?" I'm getting a little possessive now.

"Yeah, _the_ Dean," he replies.

"It's really you. Oh my God. The angels talk about you. You too, Ella. So often. You were in hell but Castiel pulled you out and some of them think you can help save us. And you," she turns to me. "Castiel brought you to Dean to keep him on track, to fall in love with you. Most of them think you can help him stay righteous. And some of them don't like you at all," Anna says to Sam. "They talk about you all the time lately. I feel like I know you three."

"So you talk to angels?" I ask.

"Oh, no, no. No way. They probably don't even know I exist. I just kinda overhear them."

"You overhear them?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, they talk and sometimes I just hear them, in my head."

"Like, right now?"

"Not right this second. But a lot. And I can't shut them out. They're so many of them."

"So they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just tuning into angel radio?" I ask.

"Yes. Thank you."

I ask her another question. "So Anna, when did this start, do you remember?"

"I can tell you exactly. September 18th." I look at Dean.

"The day I got out of hell and Ella surprised me at my grave."

"The first words I heard, clear as a bell, 'Dean Winchester is saved and Ella Jackson is in position'."

"What do you think?" I ask them.

"It's above my pay grade, man." Sam answers.

"Well at least we know why the demons want you so bad." I tell her. "They get ahold of you, they can hear what the other side's cookin'. You're 1-900-angel."

"Hey, do you know if my parents are okay? I didn't want to go home. I was afraid." Then the door slams.

"You got the girl? Good, let's go." Anna backs away, freaking out.

"It's okay, she's here to help." Sam says. I stand with Anna.

"Don't be so sure," Dean says.

"We have to hurry."

"Why?"

"Because a demon's coming bigtime. We can fight later, Dean."

"Well that's pretty convenient. Showin' up right when we find the girl with some big wig on your tail."

"I didn't bring him here you did. He followed you from the girl's house. We've gotta go now."

"Dean," Sam says, pointing to an angel. Blood is running down its face.

Ruby's afraid now. "It's too late. He's here." I grab Anna's arm and lead her to the backroom where no one will find us, I think. Ruby opens the door moments later ushering us out.

* * *

When we get back to the motel, I have to stitch up Sam's arm and then pop Dean's shoulder back into place.

"You almost done?" Dean asks impatiently.

"Almost. I'm going as fast as I can. It's your fault you didn't just run down the stairs like normal people. I'm surprised you didn't die. Come here Sam." I lead him to the sink and I pour some whiskey on the cut. "Almost... And done." I clip of the rest of the suture string and go to Dean. "Take a drink." I say.

"So you lost the magic knife, huh?" Dean says to Sam.

"Yeah, saving your ass. Who the hell was that demon?"

"No one good. We gotta find Anna."

"Ruby's got her. I'm sure she's okay."

"All right, Dean. On three." He nods. "One," I push it back in really quick and he howls out in pain. "That's what you get for jumping out of a window dumbass. Now both of you sit on the bed now. I need to clean the blood off of you then y'all can take showers." They obediently sit on the same bed and I grab the washcloth and start to wipe off all the blood and dirt and alcohol.

They bicker the entire time and I have to smack both of their heads to get them to stop yelling at each other. I wipe off the blood on Sam's arm and then on Dean's face. He's got blood other places too, it can just be taken off with a shower. I hand Dean an ice pack and Sam one two, both have towels over them that way, their hands wont get frost bite.

"How pissed are you at us?" Sam asks, looking down and away from my eyes.

"Beyond. Y'all could have gotten yourselves killed. It was stupid and reckless. And Dean before you go on about how this entire job is reckless, I don't want to hear it. You two could have easily taken the stairs. Not free-falling to your impending deaths! Why y'all didn't die, I have no idea. Maybe y'all did die and the angels brought you both back. I don't know why since you both are idiots!" I shout at them, my southern accent coming out stronger than they've both heard it before. "Promise me that y'all won't jump out of windows anymore unless it's two stories or lower."

"I promise," Sam says. Dean rolls his eyes and gets up, going to the bathroom. I roll my eyes and go to the door.

"Alright. I'm gonna get my own room for the night. Just to cool off." I walk out of the door and I get a room with some cash of my own. I wanted it right next to the boy's' and that's what I got. I grab my things and tell Sam that I'm right next door on the left side if he or Dean wanted anything.

* * *

A few hours later, I'm woken up by knocking at the back window in the bathroom.

"Sam? Dean? What the hell?"

"We've gotta go now," Dean says. "Climb through." I turn and take my shorts off for pants and I get boots on then grab my jacket all under the span of a minute. I hop up and Dean pulls me through the window. We start to walk to the address that Ruby gave Sam. When we get there, Ruby lets us in. Anna is sitting on the couch unharmed.

"Anna, you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Ruby's not like other demons. She saved my life."

"Yeah I hear she does that," Dean says. He turns to Ruby. "I guess I uh, you know."

"What?"

"I guess I owe you for Sam. I just wanted to, you know."

"Don't strain yourself."

"Okay then. Moment over? Good cause that was awkward."

"Hey, Ella. Think it'd be safe to make a quick call? Just to tell my parents I'm okay. They must be completely freaked."

"I don't know Anna. When I ended up with them Dean wouldn't let me make any calls. Sam had to sneak the phone to me so I could call my dad." I see Sam and Dean look at each other out of the corner of my eye. I turn to them. "What's wrong guys?"

"Uhh,"

"What guys?" I ask.

"Anna uhm, your parents," She eyes start forming tears.

"What about them?"

"I'm sorry."

"No they're not.."

"Anna, I'm sorry." She starts crying and being the person I am, I pull her into my embrace and I hold her while she cries. Then all of a sudden she sits up really fast.

"They're coming." She whispers. We see the lights flicker.

"Back room," Dean says. Sam pushes Anna and I in there, while Ruby barricades the door. "Please tell me you're here to help, we've been having demon issues all day." Dean says.

"We can see that. Care to explain why you have that stain in the room," Uriel says.

"We're here for Anna," I hear Castiel say. Fury rises up inside of me and I push Anna behind me.

"Stay behind me," I whisper.

"Here for her, like here for her?" Dean asks. Ever the smart ass in the room.

"Stop talking. Give her to us."

"Are you going to help her?" Sam asks.

"No, she has to die."

"You want Anna? Why?" I hear Sam ask.

"Okay, okay. I know she's wire-tapped into your angel chats and whatever but it's no reason to gank her. You're some heart less sons of bitches, you know that?"

"As a matter of fact, we are," Castiel says. Damn right you are. "And?"

"And Anna is an innocent girl."

"She is far from innocent." I don't hear anything. "It means, she's worse than this abomination that you've been screwing. Now give us the girl." Sam has been having sex with Ruby? Again, nothing. "Who's gonna stop us? You two and that petty girl of yours? Or this demon whore?" Uriel must have grabbed her because she grunts and the window smashes.

"Cas, stop please." I hear a thud and I hear fighting going on. Then I hear footsteps. I shove her into the corner and she cuts the inside of my wrists. She digs her fingers in every so often cause she's drawing something on the mirror in my blood. Once she's done, she presses her hand on it and a bright light appears.

"God damn it Anna. Why'd you have to go and cut my wrists? Fuck." I hold my wrist and she tells me the angels are gone. She opens the door and walks out. I lean against the wall, the pain in my wrist hurts my head, or maybe that's the significant blood loss that is affecting my head. I lean against the back wall and close my eyes. I'm holding my wrists.

"Ella's hurt." I hear her say. I hear lots of footsteps and I open my eyes to see Dean in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He asks, getting cloth and tying it around my wrists.

"Too much blood loss, I'm dizzy and I need stitches, it's deep and it won't stop bleeding."

"It'll be alright. I promise. Did you kill them?" Dean asks Anna.

"No. I sent them away. Far away."

"Wanna tell me how?" He asks, checking my wrists.

"It just popped in my head. I don't know how I did it. I just did."

"Well you cut Ella's wrists to do it. She needs stitches, now."

* * *

The boys go back to the motel and get our things along with the Impala. They pick us up and take us to Bobby's.

"Heya Bobby." I say walking in with my bag on my elbow and the phone in my hand, I'm talking to Bobby on the phone. "We're at your place."

"Great, break anything."

"We buy. Sam already told me."

"How're you doing with everything?" He asks. "I heard about the other night." I walk to the couch.

"I'm alright. I wish it wouldn't have happened but bad things do happen. I just don't think I've accepted it yet. I'm still in denile even though I saw his casket go into the ground."

"I was too when Karen died. She was everything to me."

"I understand, my dad was everything to me." He asks about my wrists. "Oh Anna drew this blood symbol to take the angels away and she used me as the blood donor. Hurts like a bitch, but I'll get through it."

"Need any aspirin?"

"No, I'll live. Mind telling me where it is just in case?" I stand and walk to the kitchen.

"Kitchen, open cabin next to the fridge."

"Awesome, thanks Bobby. Have a good time in the Dominican." We hang up and I get some water. My hands are a bit shaky when I hold heavy things, which isn't fun. I take a sip of water and I'm putting it down when it slips from my hands. It breaks in the sink. I sit down against the bottom cabinet of the sink as tears slip from my eyes. Why am I crying over spilt milk?

"Hey, hey, hey, are you okay?" Dean asks, sitting next to me. He pulls me into his arms and holds me.

"I don't even know why I'm crying. I dropped a glass and I broke it in the sink and I know Bobby won't care cause I'll just get him a whole new set." I take a deep breath and bury my face in Dean's chest. I stop crying but I stay in Dean's arms. "Dean."

"Ella."

"Did you get into a fight with Uriel last night?" He shrugs. I roll my eyes. "You're alright, though, right? Sam and Ruby too?"

"Yes. You're the only one who got seriously injured." He tenses as he says the sentence.

"Fully blame Anna. She's the one who did it."

"I do. Just because she saved us doesn't mean she had to use you as the materials to do it. It's not right." I nod. I sit up, Dean's arm still around me, his hand on my hip like normal.

"Thanks for stitching me up and taking care of me and making me not feel like a burden when I am. Thank you for being my friend and talking to me and letting me talk to you when needed. Thanks for being there the other night and a couple of days after that. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through it if you didn't tell me to get my big kid pants on every so often. I appreciate everything you've done for me, really, I do. I know you said no sappy moments but right now called for one."

"Of course Ella. You're part of the family now. Can't cut you out. Family protects each other and care for each other. You've taken care of me more than I have you. You've stitched me up, popped my shoulder back into place, delayed me going crazy because of ghost sickness. You were there when I got food poisoning, even through all of the throwing up and then you let me fall asleep on you. Not many people would do all of that."

I smile. "It's my female instincts. I'm a care-giver, I've always been told that."

"You really are, so thank you for that." His fingers are under my chin and his thumb is brushing against my cheek. Before the moment gets ruined, I press my lips against his. He draws my face closer to his, his lips pressing against mine.

I pull away when I hear footsteps outside. I smile and stand up. I grab Dean's hand and I start to pull him up when my hands start shaking really bad. Dean's face is full of worry. He stands and grabs my shaking hands.

"I'm fine, Dean."

"No you're not. Did she cut nerves or something? You're shaking really bad."

"I don't know. It's been happening since she dug her fingers in to get my blood." Dean's getting upset now. "Hey, I'm fine. It usually stop after a few seconds. You're just the heaviest thing I've tried picking up today."

"You can't even pick up a glass of water, obviously. Stop lifting things and call me in next time."

"No. I've got it."

"Dean!" We hear Sam say. "We need Pamela." He nods when Sam comes into sight with Ruby and Anna following behind.

"I'll go get her." He looks to me. "Want to come with?"

"Do I have to sit in the back again when she get's in?"

"Not if you don't want you."

"Good. Then I'll come with. We'll be back by noon," I tell them. We leave and get in the Impala.

* * *

We get back and Pamela and I are laughing. "We're here!" Dean says as we walk down, Pamela holding my shoulder as we concur the stairs.

"Pamela, hey!"

"Sam,"

"Yes, it's me Sam."

"Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Sam, is that you?"

"I'm right here."

"Know how I can tell?" She grabs his ass and he looks up, his face saying 'this is completely natural. I chuckle at his face. "That perky little ass yours. You can bounce a nickle off that thing. Course I know its you, grumpy. Same way I know that's a demon and that poor girl's Anna. And that you've been eyeing my rack." Sam stutters. I laugh with Pamela. "Don't sweat it kiddo, I still got more senses than most."

"Yeah," Sam agrees. Dean and I smile at Sam. We really enjoy having Pamela around.

"Hey Anna, how are ya? I'm Pamela."

"Hi,"

"Dean and Ella told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."

"That's nice of you."

"Yeah well, any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

"Why?"

"You see, they stole something me." Pamela takes her glasses off and shows Anna her eyes. "Demon-y, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra psychic, don't ya think?" They laugh. "Now how 'bout you tell me what your deal is." They walk in the panic room.

"I'm gonna go upstairs. It's not my place to be down here, watching," I tell Dean. "I'm gonna, cook dinner or something. Can I have the key's in case I need to go to the store?" He hands me the keys. "Wow I thought I'd have to argue with you about it."

"I trust you." He says. His thumb brushes my check.

"All right, I need to go make dinner." He nods and I kiss the corner of his mouth and then go upstairs.

As dinner is cooking, Lights crack and the temperature on the stove is rising. I cover my head and hide under the doorway till it stops almost thirty seconds later and the temperature goes back to the original setting.

"Are you okay?" I hear Ruby ask. I nod.

"Yes. What the hell was that?" I say going back to the food, stirring the pasta and the sauce.

"Anna flipped out. I couldn't see or hear anything once she slammed the door in my face. So I came up here to check on you."

"Thanks but I'm fine." We hear footsteps.

"She's an angel." Sam says. The rest of them come up and Anna starts talking to Ruby.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not like the others."

"I don't find that very reassuring," Ruby replies. Pamela agrees with her.

"So Castiel, Uriel, they're the ones who came for me." Anna asks, getting closer to Dean. Do I have to kiss him in front of everyone again to show her that he's not a free man?

"You knew them?" Sam asks.

"We were kind of in the same foxhole."

"We they like your bosses or something?" Dean asks, I can feel his eyes on me even though I'm turned around.

"Try the other way around."

"Look at you."

"Now they want to kill you?" Pamela asks, drawing her attention away from Dean like Sam did earlier. Thank goodness guys.

"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head.

"Why?"

"I disobeyed. Which for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."

"Meaning?" Dean asks.

"She fell to earth. Became human," I tell them from where I'm standing.

"Wait a minute. I don't understand, so angels can just, become human?"

"It kinda hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kinda hurt. I ripped out my grace."

"Come again?"

"My grace, it's energy, hacked it out and fell. My mother Amy couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"So you just forgot you were God's little power ranger?"

"The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

"I don't think you guys appreciate how completely screwed we are," Ruby says suddenly.

"Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And hell just wants her. A flesh and blood angel that you can question, torture. That bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, heaven or hell, they're gonna find ya."

"I know. And that's why I'm gonna get it back. My grace."

"You can do that?"

"If I find it."

"So what, you're just gonna take some divine bong hit and shazam you're Roma Downey?"

"Something like that."

"Alright, I like this plan. So where's that grace of yours?"

"Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."

"You mean falling, like literally?" Sam asks.

"Yes."

"Like the human eye can see, like a comet or a meteor?" He clarifies.

"Why do you ask?" Sam turns and gets his laptop to start doing research. I turn off the stove and I get some plates out. Well try. Dean rushes over and grabs them for me. I smile and tell him he can just set it down on the counter next to the stove. Everyone eats then Dean brings Pamela home. I wait outside for him after a couple of hours, looking up at the stars since its such a clear night.

I hear the Impala, pull up and I turn around.

"Pamela get home okay?"

"Yeah. She said she was sorry it's just after last time. This is just a little to rich for her blood," Dean tells me.

"Better tell Anna at some point." I walk closer to him and lean against the side of the car that I was originally resting on.

"Why would she want to become one of us though? A bunch of miserable bastards, I mean eating, crapping, confused, afraid."

"I don't know, there's loyalty, forgiveness. Love."

"Pain."

"Chocolate cake."

"Guilt."

"Sex."

"Yeah, you got me there."

"Every emotion Dean. She never had that. I don't think she wants to go back."

"Well emotions are overrated if you ask me."

"But you feel them every day. We all do. Trust me, I don't like them either but I feel them. I try so hard not to feel the bad ones but they rear their ugly heads and make themselves known. Like today, when Anna was all googly-eyed because of you and yesterday when you were protecting us, she was all impressed."

"You're jealous." I don't keep eye contact.

"Like I said, one of the bad ones. I tried not to feel it, but it kept breaking through and I got jealous and..." Dean smiles. "Why are you smiling?"

"You're so, you." He draws my lips to his and he kisses me once. I link my fingers with his and I smile too.

"Hey," we hear Sam say. We turn and look at him.

"You find something?" I ask.

"I think so." We follow him in and he points at a map. "Union, Kentucky. Found some accounts of a local miracle. In '85 there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later there was a full-grown oak. They say it looks a century old, at least."

"Anna," I say. "What do you think?"

"The grace where it hit. It could have done something like that, easy."

"So grace ground zero, it's not destruction, its..."

"Pure creation," Anna finishes for him.

"Let's go," Dean says.

I nod and I go and grab our bags, well Dean tries to stop me but I put them on my elbow and I haul them out of the house into the trunk. Dean gets in as do Anna and Ruby. Sam lets me slide in first so I'm between the boys, holding Deans hand while he drives and the girls are in the back. Ruby looks pissed cause she's sitting next to an angel and I'm sure Anna's pissed off too.

Dean starts chuckling when we cross state lines.

"What?" Ruby asks.

"Nothing, it's just, an angel and a demon riding in the back seat. It's like the set up to a bad joke or a pinhouse form letter."

"Dude. Reality. Porn." Sam clarifies again. I laugh.

"You call this reality?"

* * *

I fall asleep on Dean's shoulder and we get there by morning. We get out and look at the tree.

"It's beautiful," I say.

"It's where the grace touched down. I can feel it."

"Ready to do this?" Dean asks.

"Not really."

We walk up to the tree, Anna a head of all of us. "Anna what are we even looking for?" She touches the tree, hoping to get some grace.

"It doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it."

* * *

We go to an abandon house and we sit tight. Dean and Ruby are fighting again and Sam intercedes.

"Uh guys. The angels are talking again."

"What are they say?" I ask.

"It's weird. Like a recording, a loop. It says, '_Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight or we hurl him back to damnation_.' " Dean's terrified.

"Anna, do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?" Sam asks.

"To what? To kill them?" He tips his head as if saying 'well yeah'. "Nothing we can get to, not right now."

"Alright hold on, I say we call Bobby get him back from heatinism."

"Dean what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know," Sam says.

"I don't know, I'm just trying to think of something."

"Dean, come on, let's go read some books, try to figure this out," I tell him, leading him out of the house to the Impala. We set up a light and we read to find something useful. "Dean," I say stopping my reading. "We already know all of this stuff."

"Let's just look one more time, see if..." I put my hand on his cheek and make him look at me.

"Just stop reading. You'll give yourself a headache."

"But at least you'd be there to take care of me. To rub my temples and to be close." I smile.

"I'm close to you, right now silly." He bends and kisses me. I stand and wrap my arms around his neck as we keep kissing. He picks me up and sets me on the hood of the car. I draw him closer and he lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. I pull back. "So you're one of those guys."

"What?"

"You can actually pick a girl up when their legs are around your waist." I lean forward kissing his neck under his ear. "I like that in a guy." He groans and tangles his hand in my hair when I pull back away from his ear and kiss him again.

He goes around to the passenger side of the Impala. I open the back door and I crawl in. I lay down on my back and Dean is over me, kissing me. My fingers are roaming his back and his neck and down his shoulders. He kisses me and sits up, taking his shirt off. I pull mine over my head and he helps me with my pants. I unbutton his jeans and slip them off.

His hands are right back on my hips, pulling me closer to him. I kiss him as he unclips my bra. I take it off along with my underwear and his. He slides into me and I moan with pleasure, feeling full with his length inside of me. The slow thrusts I receive and reciprocate. The unhurried touches, the deep moans softly making their way out of our mouths. And lastly the feeling we both get when we reach our peaks.

"Ella,"

"Dean." He pants in my ear, kisses my neck, and smiles. I smile too, trailing my fingers down to his ass. "So what does this make us?"

"Together."

"Really?"

"Yes." I smile.

* * *

The next morning I wake up in the Impala, Dean wrapped around me, I'm wrapped around Dean. It's the perfect way to wake up. I press my lips against his and his eyes flutter open. His green eyes stare into my green ones.

"Good morning," he says.

"Mornin'. You know, as much as I want to stay out here with you, we should get dressed and go back inside. I'm cold."

"I'll warm you up." I grin and I move closer to him.

"We've gotta get dressed." And we do after ten minutes of shared kisses and Dean trying to take our clothes off once we got them on. We go inside and a few minutes later, Castiel and Uriel come in ready to take Anna away.

* * *

_A/N: Review please! Let me know if there's anything you think I should add to future chapters. I would really love it if you would let me know what you're thinking about this story and especially if I should add anything or leave something out. I want to know. I won't get offended if you tell me something you want in the story. Send me a review! Please!_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So when you review, tell me your favorite part about the chapters as we go on! Please & thank you!

**Chapter Eight**

**Ella**

I hide Anna behind me and the boys are in front of us, slightly.

"Hello Anna. It's good to see you."

"How? How'd you find us?" I snap at them. I see Castiel's eyes flick to Dean's. I stare at him incredulously.

"I'm sorry," he whispers to us.

"Why?" Sam asks.

"Because they gave him a choice," I say.

"They either kill me, or kill you," Anna finishes. "I know how their minds work." She turns to Dean. "You did the best you could. I forgive you." I stand there and let it happen because I know she'll never be in our lives again after this plus I get to kick some angel ass later therefore, I'm alright. Anna walks out from behind me and toward the angels. "Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready."

"I'm sorry," Castiel says.

"No, you're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."

"Still we have a history. Its just.."

"Orders are orders, I know. Just make it quick."

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girls head." We turn and see several demons with a blood Ruby in their hands. I step in front of Anna again. Uriel walks forward and we go to the side of the room.

"How dare you come in this room," he says. "You pussing sore."

"Name calling. That hurt my feelings, you sanctimonious fanatical prick."

"Turn around and walk away now," Castiel says, hatred for the demon spewing from his voice.

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sue she get's punished good and proper."

"You know who we are and what we will do. I won't say it again. Leave now or we lay you to waste."

"I think I'll take my chances." They start fighting and the big dog, I think Ruby mentioned him as Alistair, starts chanting in latin while holding Cas around the neck. I grab something and I run out and hit him over the head with it before he can finish. "Ella, Ella, Ella." I'm surprised he knows my name. He knocks me down to the ground and I land on my hands which causes pain to shoot up my arms and my stitches to come loose.

All of the sudden before he can say anything else, Anna is telling us to shut our eyes and we all do so. She's becoming an angel again.

They get up when she's gone and I stay sitting on the ground, trying to hold it together. I whisper Dean's name and he is at my side lifting me up. "God the pain hurts." I take a shaky breath and I hold my wrists. Luckily I don't have a long sleeve on and it's just a short sleeve. I stand next to Dean and Cas comes up to me. He places two fingers on my forearms and both my cuts are healed and the shakes and the pain goes away. I don't say anything. I'm still pissed off.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Dean asks. "Why don't you go get Anna? Unless of course, you're scared."

"This isn't over," Uriel says, stomping up to Dean. I stand in front of him and Castiel pulls him back.

"Well it looks over to me junkless." They disappear and I lean back against Dean and he holds me. Sam, Ruby, and Dean talk for a few minutes before we leave. Dean parks on the side of the road a few miles down the way. They get out and get a beer each. The boys sit on the hood and invite me out. I do and I take a beer and I lean against Dean, tired. "Can't believe we made it out of there."

"Again." They clink beer cans and sip.

"I know you heard him, Sam, Ella."

"Who?" Sam asks.

"Alistair." So I was right. "What he said, about how I had promise."

"We heard him," Sam says.

"You're not curious Sam?"

"Dean, I'm damn curious. But you're not talkin' about hell and I'm not pushin'."

Dean takes a drawn out sip of his beer before speaking. "It wasn't four months you know." We are confused. I take a sip of my beer as he answers. "It was for months up here, but down there. I don't know, time's different. It was more like forty years."

"Oh my God," Sam says.

"They uh, they sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you." He shakes his head. "Till there was nothing left. And then suddenly I would be whole again. Like magic. So they could start in all over. And Alistair, at the end of every day, every one, he would come over and he would make me an offer to take me off the rack if I put souls on, if I started the torture. And every day I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it anymore Sammy." I take Dean's hand and squeeze it as the tears form in his eyes. "I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me I got right off it. And I started rippin' them apart. I lost count of how many souls." His lips quiver and I hold his arm, my fingers linked with his. His hand squeezes mine. "The, the things that I did to them."

"Dean," Sam says, like he's about to cry. I think we both are. I know Dean is. "Dean you held out for thirty years, its longer than anyone would of."

I wipe away Dean's tears. "How I feel," he starts. "this, inside me. I wish I couldn't feel anything Sammy, Ella. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing." I wipe away his tears and I hold him as best I can without being in the way. He buries his face in my neck and I hand Sam my beer. I take Dean's out of his hand and he wraps his arms around my waist. I give the beer bottle to Sam and I notice Sam is almost in tears too. I reach out and touch his shoulder, rubbing my thumb over it in comfort.

* * *

We get to Bobby's, our home for a few nights till we find a case, and Sam goes straight to bed. Dean wants to go to sleep, but wants me there with him. I tell him to go get ready while I get a glass of water. I hear flapping like wings and I turn around quickly to find Castiel there.

"I've heard you this past week. All of your comments."

"Well you deserve them."

"It wasn't my fault your father died."

"Yes it was Cas. You took me away and he died because of the stress of not having found me yet. You did this. You took me away and he died because of it. You're to blame in all of this." He looks down.

"It's not my fault. Demons came after they found out you called. They thought they could torture where you were out of him. But he didn't know. Since they found no reason for him to be alive after that, they killed him."

"I don't believe you!" I spat. "Look I appreciate that you healed me but I'm not going to say thank you. I don't believe your story about demons coming to find me. Why the hell would they anyhow? Think about the who, what, where, why, when, and how before you make up a story."

He grabs my arm as I try to walk past. "I can take you away from here. I could put you in the middle of the desert where no one will find you. Show me some respect."

"What's the point? You wouldn't want to hurt Dean like that would you? You wouldn't want me to die when I keep Dean on track. If I disappear, he'll forget about your little apocalypse seals and he'll spend all of his time and put all of his effort into finding me."

"Sooner or later, he'll figure you're dead and move on."

"He wouldn't believe it. Why would I just randomly disappear? I sure as hell don't know where Anna is and I'm sure he can hear us right now. He'll question you and you would just be lying to hin if you said you didn't know where I was. Now back off. It's your fault and I can't deal with you anymore." I push at him and get to the bottom of the stairs and he's in front of me again.

"I'm serious, it's not my fault. You're father died because of demons."

"Why then? Why were they looking for me?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out. You and Dean and Sam are key pieces of this situation. Learn your boundaries and other's as well."

"Cas, why are you such a dick?"

"I'm not. You just can't handle the truth. And the truth is, I didn't kill your father. Demons did. Do you want to go to where he was found? You'll smell sulfur and it smells like rotten eggs."

"I know, I took chemistry in high school my junior year." I actually took four years of science, biology freshman year, anatomy and physiology sophomore year, chemistry junior year, and forensics my senior year. "Are you sure no one has cleaned it in the last two weeks?"

"I'm sure." I nod. He presses his fingers to my forehead and suddenly we aren't in Bobby's house anymore. We are in a dark, concrete room, water pipes running along the ceiling and water dripping down the sides of the room. I touch my fingers to it and they come back red. Blood. It reeks of sulfur down here.

"Is this where demons do their torturing?"

"Sometimes. They brought your father here. There are many rooms like this placed sporadically over the world."

"So? I saw my father's body, there wasn't a single scratch or bruise on him."

"I healed him just days before he went into cardiac arrest."

"It was partly your fault. If you didn't take me away, those demons wouldn't have gone to him, he wouldn't be so stressed looking for me. It's still your fault." I cross my arms and curl into myself. "Can you take me back now?" He nods and he does his angel thing and we are back where we were before he took me away.

"Ella," Dean says rounding the corner from the living room. Relief fills his eyes. Then he sees Cas. "Cas," he says.

"Hello Dean," Castiel says.

"Just go to bed. I'll explain everything later," I tell Dean as he just stands there, not sure of what to do, the hard look still plastered onto his face. "Dean." He glares at Cas and walks past us. "Castiel, tell me exactly why y'all chose me to help Dean?"

There's a pregnant pause. "Destiny. Fate. You can't change one or the other. You can change the path but the end game is still going to happen."

"Was I supposed to meet Dean during one of his hunts and that's when my dad gets captured?"

"It could have happened like that, yes. This has been set into stone for thousands of years. We chose the safer way for you two to meet and your father dying would of happened either way, Ella. It's not my fault. It's the demon's and fate's. Don't blame me." I nod, tears forming in my eyes.

"I won't anymore. I understand now." I turn away from him and walk up the stairs slowly, tears falling. I wipe them off my face and get myself under control before walking into the room I know Dean is in. He's laying on his back staring out of the window which is about the side of the bed. It's a full size mattress but we fit in it if we're together, really close. "Hey," I say, taking my jeans off, leaving me in just my underwear and a long baggy shirt. Since I knew today was going to be a driving day, I went without a bra. And luckily Dean is only in his boxers when I climb in the bed, not facing him.

"Hey, what was that all about downstairs with Cas?"

"He just told me that it wasn't his fault my dad died like I originally thought," I tell Dean, taking lots of breaks between words to keep myself in control. I've only ever sobbed twice in front of them, once in front of Sam, the other in front of them both. I'm not a crier. I bottle things up and store them away.

Dean pulls me closer to him, spooning against me, kissing the back of my neck.

"El, it's going to be okay, you'll get through this." His arms are wrapped tightly around me. "Remember your big kid pants. It's the Winchester way, if you're going to be with us."

"I know, Dean. I'm trying. At least y'all are strong enough to suck it up and move on. I try and it bites me in the ass every time." I turn to face him. "I'm trying."

"And I'm glad you are. Come here." He bends my face to meet his and he presses his lips to mine.

* * *

The next morning, I wake up in the bed alone spread out on my back, one leg straight and the other bent, my arms bent above my head. I faintly smell bacon and eggs and toast. I grab Dean's pillow and pull it closer to me, resting my head on it, curling into myself on my side facing the window. I look up and the sun is up, the skies are blue, perfect day for a little bit of sun bathing while we rest up, looking for the next hunt.

I get up and grab my shorts out of my bag. I brush my hair and I walk to the bathroom with my toothpaste, since we all carry our own so we aren't digging through each other's bags and if one of us leaves it there, we can use the other person's. I brush my teeth and walk out, bumping into Sam on the way out.

"Hey Sammy. How are ya?" I ask, a smile on my face. He's dressed and I just woke up.

"Good, you're happy today."

"Well it's sunny out, I woke up in a good mood after I fell asleep in a decent one." He smiles. I walk out after he takes a step back and go back to the room. I put my toothbrush and paste away and I go downstairs. The smell of bacon and eggs and toast is much stronger down here. I see Sam sitting at the table with laptop and his back to Dean who is at the stove cooking. I smile and watch the boys for a couple of seconds before going up to Dean, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He chuckles. "Hey El."

"Dean," I kiss his shoulder-blade and I step to his right side and I lean against the counter. "So why are you cooking?"

"Cause Sammy asked me to help out and told me to just push around the eggs and wait for them to have no liquid around them." I look down.

"You're not doing a very good job. Here, let me." He moves and hands me the spatula. I take it and I start with breakfast. I pick up the tongs for the bacon and I flip it, hoping to get it just right. "Dean, make yourself useful and butter the toast."

"Why are you demanding something from Sam?"

"Because by the looks of it, he's trying to find us a case and not looking at porn like someone would do."

"I'm a changed man since I've been out of hell."

"Please, I saw you looking at the porn magazines when we were at the gas station. I hadn't even known you a day and I knew you liked porn." I smile at him and he pokes at my sides.

"Did not. That was car magazines."

"And when did you like looking at cars so much? I thought you only had eyes for the Impala."

"You got me! But there is..."

"A case I've just found," Sam interrupts.

* * *

We hunt non-stop for about a month. It's stressful but I get why Dean wants to do it. I do too. Though towards the end of the month, we find a particular case that is seemingly normal. But as always, there's a twist.

The case is odd. It's an abandon home with, what we thought was a ghost, actually turned out to be an actual human being. It was a girl who had to be in her teens. She was living in the walls of the house and it was creepy. She was the child of her mother and her grandfather/father. He raped her and she had kids and she hung herself before. It's all super crazy.

Dean also lets us in about hell again. Says he felt for the kids, Sam disagrees saying they were barely human. Dean tells us that he did it for sheer pleasure while the kids were defending territory. I didn't know him that long but I was stunned. I sat in the back listening to the soft classic rock playing in the car as we drove to the motel and that night Dean went to the bar and came back not as buzzed as I thought he would be. He was actually pretty sober, maybe two beers in his system. It was tough getting him into bed when he wasn't tired but it happened with the promise of a little something the next day.

Sam left the motel to find us another case while at a diner or the library and he said he'd be gone for a few hours. And I fulfill my promise to Dean which put him back in a good mood and we are back on better terms than the hunting for a month non-stop deal.  
So now we head to magician central. This guy got stabbed in the chest ten times without a tear in his shirt. Time for some tricks!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**Ella**

"This isn't a trick. I don't do tricks. This is a demonstration about demons and angels, love and lust."

"What a douche bag," Dean says as we walk up wearing our FBI attire.

"It's Jeb Dexter."

"I don't even wanna know how you know that, Sam."

"He's famous, kinda."

"For what?" I ask. "Douchebaggary?" Dean chuckles.

"Guests, don't touch me, okay? For your own safety." He starts his magic trick, oh I'm sorry demonstration. He starts freaking out and acting like a demon is inside of him and I press my face into Dean's arm to control my giggles. Although I have to admit the card in the window thing is kind of cool, but the fake demon possession, was not cool.

"You've gotta be kidding me, a fake demon possession? I haven't been on the job as long as you two but that was stupid and not how it works." Dean and I walk away, Sam has to catch up.

"I can't believe people actually fall for that crap."

"It's not all crap."

"What part of that was not a steaming pile of B.S.?"

"Okay, that was crap. But that's not all magicians. It takes skill." Sam says acting all confident.

Dean remembers something. "Oh right, right, I forgot you were actually into this stuff, weren't you? You had a deck of cards and a wand."

"Dude I was thirteen."

"Awh little, well big, Sammy was a magician? I hope you didn't wear eye liner like that freak over there. I mean I wear it, because it actually looks alright on me. Him, no."

"It was a phase, El."

"Just bugs me. Actually it offends me. Playing in demon into magic when the real thing will kill you bloody."

"Like a guy who drops dead of ten stab wounds without a sing tear in his shirt?" Sam offers.

"That's what I'm talking about." We walk to the dead man's assistant in his hotel room. "So did your boss have any enemies that you know of?"

"Vance had plenty of enemies."

"How so?" Sam asks.

"He would steal from other magicians all the time."

"What would he steal?" He asks again.

"Stage effects, close up techniques, anything he could get his hands on." The assistant says.

"Is it enough to get him killed?" I asked.

"These guys take this stuff pretty seriously." She takes a cape off of the couch and a rabbit is underneath. "There you are," she says, picking it up. My nose starts twitching and I sneeze a few times.

"Sorry, allergic. I'm gonna," I sneeze and point to the door. I walk out and stand against the wall, getting my act together. Sam and Dean walk out a few minutes later.

"I'm going back to the room," Sam says to me.

"I'm coming with you, because there are too many rabbits and I'm allergic." Dean tells us he's going to go talk to some of the other magicians and then come back in a few hours. Sam and I start talking on the way to the room when we part ways with Dean.

"So I noticed all of the hand holding and touches and looks."

"And?"

"And I also noticed the kiss a couple of weeks ago at Bobby's, I also noticed the kiss you gave him when we parted ways."

"Your point?" I say, trying to act casual, and it's failing miserably.

"You're together, aren't you?" I avoid eye contact. I try to unlock the room to go in but Sam steps in front of me. "You are! I'm glad. Just don't do the nasty while I'm here."

"Don't worry about that. That's not something I want you to hear. If we were to do it, we'd get another room. A little ways away from yours. Or Dean would tell you to get out and do some research at the library instead of here. I'll let you know with like a gesture of some sort, maybe."

"Oh God. Really, El?"

"It's new. You're lucky we didn't want to do anything with the last case."

"Alright, well I'm gonna check out the vic's record. If you want to help go for it."

"I will."

I sit across from him at the table in my camp sweats and my shirt from earlier for the FBI act. My nylons are on under my sweats to I can slip off my sweats and put my skirt back on if needed. We sit doing research for a few hours when there's a knock at the door. We look up from what we are doing and we're confused. I check the clock on the wall and it's half past nine.

Sam slowly gets up trying not to make any noise. He points to the back of the room and I get up slowly and walk over with a book to look normal. He checks the peephole and sighs.

He opens the door and says, "What are you doing here Ruby?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." She walks in and sees me.

"I think I'll give you two a minute." I stand and walk outside and lean against the wall. They're in there for a couple of minutes when Ruby comes out.

"You can go back in now. And tell Sam that he needs to get his ass in gear and cut the head of the snake. He somewhat listens to you." I nod and go back in.

"We got a call," Sam says. "We're meeting Dean there."

"Let me get my skirt back on and take my hair out of the braid, then we'll be good." I go to the bathroom with my skirt and slip off my sweats. I put the skirt on and I take my hair out of the long braid I did. It took me ten minutes but it's ten minutes that were worth it, because my hair is flowy and wavy instead of the straight look I did this morning when we got here. My hair is naturally curly and I don't normally flat-iron my hair unless we have to keep up appearances. If its a driving day, screw my hair. That's what buns are for.

We walk out and we go down to the lobby and into the theater.

"Did Dean just want to watch a magic show?"

"I think so yeah."

"All right, so I had to take my hair out, why?"

"Dean never told me he wanted to watch the magic show."

"Find anything interesting?" Dean says running his fingers over the small of my back, brushing the ends of my hair, as he walks past.

"Uh, no. You?"

"Nothing I wanna talk about, or think about ever again." That just makes me curious. Dean motions for us to walk to down the steps and to the other magicians that I guess are friends with the one performing tonight. "So the chief huh?"

"What's the matter? The chief not your type."

"You know I could have you both arrested for obstruction of justice."

"You're no fed. We con people for a living, son. Takes more than a fake badge to get past us."

Sam and Dean laugh. "You got us," Dean tells him. "Yeah, we are actually aspiring magicians."

"Yeah, we came to the convention cause we thought we could learn something," I say.

"Get some ideas for our new show!" Dean says. They're look of impression isn't real.

"What kind of show?"

"It's a brother act," Sam says. "She's our assistant."

"You know with the rings and doves," I say. "But not rabbits, I'm allergic which is a shame. They so cute and popular for aspiring magicians." The announcer starts talking and the magician goes up.

"Wanna learn something, stick around." One of the magician's say.

The magician on stage starts his trick and has one minute to get out of a noose with a straight jacket on. And he's almost out of time.

"I don't think he's going to make it," Dean says. The man drops and everyone is freaking out till the curtains open and he's standing, just fine with no straight jacket on.

"That was not humanly possible," I tell Sam.

"I agree."

* * *

We go back to the room and I get undressed in the bathroom for bed. I get shorts on since I can't sleep with pants on, it's just not comfortable when it rides up around your legs and you get irritated first thing in the morning. I would prefer to sleep naked, but Sam is here and that's just inappropriate.

I crawl into bed and I sit with the newest book I've started reading. It's called, _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ and it's really good so far. Dean doesn't understand how I read so many books with the job taking up so much time.

While Sam is taking a shower, Dean crawls onto the bed and I quickly memorize the page number I'm on. He pushes the book out of my hands and wraps his arms around my middle, resting his head next to my neck. He bites and kisses my neck and it feels so good that I want to take him now, but I don't because of Sam. But since he does take long showers, I do roll us over so I'm on top and I kiss Dean.

His hands are on my hips and he's kissing back. I love it and I want to go further but Sam's shower ends. I kiss Dean once more, it's a long, hard kiss and I pull back when I hear the bathroom door open. Sam comes out with the towel around his waist and he get's his clothes and gets dressed in the bathroom. I roll away and reach down to grab my book, sure that Dean is staring at my ass.

"You know Dean, there is this little thing called a hand and everyone's got one. I can easily slap you with it," I tell him.

"Hey nothing wrong with a little peek. I mean, we are together." I roll my eyes and sit back up, leaning against his arm which is behind my back. His fingers play with my hair. He leans over and says, "I really like your hair like this. All straight with a little bit of a wave to it. I've never told you because we weren't together at the time and the past couple of weeks, it's been curly. I like it like that, but I do really like it like this." He kisses my arm. I smile and he goes back so laying on his back. His eyes are closed.

"So, should I keep straightening it?"

"Yes. And that stuff you put in your hair smells so good."

"It's called heat protectant. And I use it so my hair doesn't get fried and look stupid." I put the book down. "Let's go to sleep. We can do research tomorrow."

"Now you're my kind of woman." I smirk and lay down facing him, his arm over my head on the top part of my pillow.

"Night." He kisses my forehead and we go to sleep.

* * *

"Looks like this guy Jay was a pretty big deal in the seventies," Sam comments after a couple of hours of research.

"Which in magician land means what, exactly?"

"Big enough to play a radio city music hall."

"What got him stuck in the '_Where Are They Now?_' file?" Dean asks.

"He got old."

"Okay," I start. "Maybe Incredible Jay is using real magic to stage a comeback." And it's the only thing I say out of their entire conversation.

"It's possible," Sam agrees. "Some kind of spell that works a death transference."

"How does the tarot card mix into it?" Dean asks.

Sam shrugs, looking back to his computer. "I don't know."

"Man, I hope I die before I get old," Dean says. "Whole thing seems brutal don't it?" Dean gets up and starts looking at the tarot card.

"You think we will?" Sam asks.

"What?"

"Die before we get old?"

"Haven't we both already?"

"You know what I mean, Dean. I mean, do you think we'll still be chasing demons when we're sixty."

"No. I think we'll be dead. For good. What, you wanna end like uh, like, like Travis? Or Gordon maybe?"

"There's Bobby."

"Oh yeah, there's a poster child for grownup gracefully."

"Maybe we'll be different, Dean."

"What kind of kool-aid, you drinkin' man? Sammy, it ends bloody or sad. That's just the life," Dean tells him, picking my feet up and sitting under them while I'm looking at old newspaper articles.

Sam closes his laptop. "What if we could win?"

"Win?"

"If there was a way we could just put an end to all of it."

"Is there something going on that you're not telling me?"

"No." Sam seems truthful, I believe him.

"Sammy."

"No. Look, I'm just saying that. I just wish there was a way we could go after the source. That's all. Cut the head off the snake," Sam says, repeating Ruby's words from earlier.

"Well problem with the snake is it has a thousand heads. Evil bitches just keep piling out of the Volkswagen."

"Guess you're right," Sam says letting it go for now.

"Why don't you go see if you can track down Jay. I'll see what I can dig up on this tarot card." Sam nods and leaves, probably for a few hours.

Dean gets up and sits at the computer. I put the articles down and look at Dean. I can see him getting older and living life comfortably with kids and not getting them mixed up in this business. But they will know an angel or two if I have anything to say about it.

"Dean?"

"Ella." He turns to look at me.

"Do you ever see yourself settling down, having kids that aren't entwined with all of this?"

"Oh no. We are not having this talk. We've been together over a month, I'm not going to talk marriage with you."

"Dean, I meant in general. It's piggy backing onto what Sam was asking earlier about being sixty and alive."

He's silent for a couple of seconds. "Maybe, okay? Probably no kids, I'm already thirty. I need to start getting them poppin' out now if I was going to possibly see graduation. I don't know, maybe they'll get Sam's intelligence and skip a couple of grades and get done quicker than the others."

"Dean, I'm sure you'd see graduation. You'd make sure someone brought you back so you could see it." I smile and he's smug about his smile. "Oh Dean. Come on, cheer up." I stand and walk to him. "Turn that frown upside down!" I put my fingers on either side of his lips and briefly push the sides of his mouth up. I pull away and he somewhat smiles. "There ya go. Doesn't it feel better to smile?" He frowns. "Alright, you asked for it." I go to the door and put the do not disturb sign on the outside doorknob.

I straddle his lap, take off my shirt so I'm only in my bra and jeans, and I kiss him. I wrap my arms around his neck and I mouth closer to mine. He gets into it and he opens my mouth, and I let our tongues tangle and explore. His hands are flat against my back, pulling my body closer to his so my breasts rest on his chest. I trail my hands from his shoulders when he pulled me so close to him, to his cheeks.

We unbutton each others pants and he lifts me up, carrying me to the bed. He lays me on my back and he pulls my pants off and his too. I unclip my bra tossing it to the floor and he pulls my underwear off same with his boxers. He's just about to slide in when his phone rings. He gets up with everything showing and answers.

"Hello?" Pause to let them talk. "Yeah, okay. We will be there in forty minutes. I was about to jump in the shower." He hangs up after a couple seconds and comes back. "We've gotta make this quick." I smile and he bends to kiss me, making both of us ready again.

Dean positions his hips and slowly slides in. He's slow at first letting me get used to it. Then he speeds up.

We finish and clean up and get dressed in twenty five minutes. We are out of their and in the lobby of the other hotel watching Sam walk in by the time forty minutes is up.

"Maid found Jeb hanging from the ceiling fan. Police think it was a suicide, I beg to differ. Pulled a little sleight of hand myself," Dean tells Sam, holding up the tarot card we found in Jeb's things.

"So I've been thinking if this spell is a death transfer, then these cards work like black magic targets."

"Think there's a connection between the victims?"

"Jeb was a total douche bag to Jay yesterday," Dean points out.

"What about the first vic, Vance?"

"Asked around," I start. "apparently Vance was heckling Jay at the bar the day he was killed," I tell him.

"Okay so Jay sneaks the card into Vance's pocket, does the table of death,"

"And Vance takes ten swords to the chest," I finish.

"Then Jay slips a noose and Jeb doesn't. Hell of a trick."

"Yeah, it's time we had a little chat with Jay. Any luck tailing him?"

Sam's hesitant to respond. "He slipped me."

Dean's confused. "He's a sixty year old."

"He's a magician," Sam clarifies.

* * *

I go back to the room while Sam and Dean break into his room. Though a few hours later my phone rings. I recognize the number as the police station.

"Hello?"

"Ella, we need you to bail us out of jail," Dean says.

"How the hell did you wind up there!" I yell at him.

"He called the cops!" He was definitely good at keeping what he did a secret. "Sam and I need you to bail us out. We obviously didn't do it right?"

"Last I heard you and your brother were on your way back to the room."

"Exactly!" Lie, complete lie. "Tell them that!" I tell Dean I'm on my way and I hang up.

* * *

Later that night, we find out that Jay dropped the charges so I wasn't needed to come down, but I wasted my time and effort doing so.

"Jay," I start, "thanks for dropping the charges against these two idiots."

"And who are you?"

"His," I point to Dean and link my fingers through his, "girlfriend. Why did you do it though?"

"We have to talk." We follow him to the bar and he tells us Charlie is dead and orders a drink before talking anymore. "I was just a kid when we first met. All I knew was how to cheat at cards. Charlie got me out of more scrapes than I can count. Hell I would have been dead by the age of twenty if it hadn't been for him." Jay sighs deeply. "He was more than my friend. He was my brother." I can see Sam looking at Dean out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry, Jay," Sam tells him.

"Look, I should have listened to you guys when you told me my show was killing people."

"Well you weren't the one pullin' the trigger," Dean comments.

"Yeah, but someone did and I wanna find out who did this to Charlie so I'll do whatever you guys say. Tell me what to do."

I start talking. "Jay whoever's doing this, they like you, they're probably close to you. Did Charlie and Vernon get along?"

"No. No, it's not Vernon."

"He's the only one who makes sense," Dean replies. "Charlie and Vernon were your family, Jay, and now Charlie's gone."

"Yeah but they butted heads sometimes but Vernon could never do something like this."

Dean counters Jay's response. "See the thing about real magic, it's a whole lot like crack. People do some surprising things once they get a taste of it."

"You better be damn sure about this," Jay whispers. "Vernon's all I got left."

* * *

We get Vernon's room number and we break in. Dean lets me pick the lock because I've picked my house lock before, both the window and the doors so I can pick locks. I get it open in about 45 seconds. We walk in and we're surprised.

"Wow, it's like a magic museum," Sam comments.

"You must be heaven, Sam." I tell him. He rolls his eyes and walks forward. "He doesn't travel light."

"He's been on the road his whole life. Everything he owns is probably in this room. Let's get started." We look around and Dean finds something.

"Damn. Look like anyone we know?" He holds the picture up and it's Charlie. We rush out of there and get to the theater. "Not so fast!" Dean says as we reach them. "I ain't Gutenburg and this ain't cocoon." Dean flashes his gun and waves Jay and Vernon out-of-the-way.

"Immortality. That's a neat trick," I tell him.

"That's not a trick." A rope is around Dean's neck and tight. "It's magic." Sam fires his gun and Charlie just spits it back out. "Hey bullet catch. I've been working on that."

"Get him," Dean yells down at Sam.

Sam walks up to him, gun at the ready. "Let him go, now!"

"Just leave me and my friends alone."

"He said now, Charlie." I tell him.

"Fine, I'll give it up. The spells, the hexes this is the last time, I promise." Sam throws a punch when Dean isn't alright and Charlie's gone. He knocks Sam into the one with the cuffs and the knives, scary. The rope is slowly breaking and a tarot card is in Charlie's pocket. I stab Jay and he doesn't bleed or feel any pain. The whole exchange saves everyone's lives except Charlie's. He's dead now. And Jay is miserable. Dean tries to convince him otherwise but it's not working.

"All right. I guess there's nothing we can do. Have a good rest of your life, Jay. I really hope you feel better." And we leave.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Yo. I know y'all don't like reading long paragraphs but at least read the third long paragraph, it's got something in pertaining to the rest of this chapter, the next one as well. Review please! I know this is short but I promise the next one will be super long!

**Chapter Ten**

**Ella**

Back in the room, Dean sits and is confused. I look at him and now I'm confused.

"Did you call yourself my girlfriend earlier, Ella?" Oh. Is it a big deal?

"Well, yeah. He asked, I answered with what I am."

"Okay. Just clarifying," he justifies. "Come here," I don't I just pack my bag with the stuff I don't need. "Girlfriend," Dean says. I blush and his arms are around my waist in a matter of seconds. Dean buries his face into my neck. "I like it. I may just call you that from now on instead of El." He bites my neck gently.

"Oh, but I like El."

"But I like girlfriend."

"And it's going to be hard for you to change from El to girlfriend. Just don't even try." I say turning around as we fall into bed together.

* * *

The next few cases are pretty tough. Sam and Dean go back to their old high school, Truman High. There's a spirit of a 'bully' killing other bullies and Sam and Dean save the school while telling me about some of the crazy things that happened in school then. It was just them on their own for over three weeks when they went here. I guess John left them with enough money to survive. The spirit was a bully because he was acting out I guess. He took care of his mother while she was on her death bed with cancer. He acted out and was bullied after Sam made up the nickname Dirk the Jerk. Dirk was the kid's name.

Then the next one was stupid. A siren, male of course, was telling Sam and Dean to kill each other. I had to snap them out of it, it was stupid. I slapped Sam in the face and Dean too. It didn't help. I cut Dean's arm and then had Bobby's help stabbing the siren in the heart. It was nice to see Bobby even for a little while. We had a good talk and I told him about Castiel and our fight. He understood why I blamed him at first but understands that Castiel knew it was going to happen either way and the closest family I had, was in Washington state and I might as well have a family that goes everywhere with me, as my safety net. Which I agree with.

Then we enlist Pamela's help with a stupid seal. The boys go into the spirit world were reapers are getting kidnapped. We find out it's Alastair. Pamela and I get attacked by demons, she's stabbed in the stomach and mine is under my rib cage on my left side and it tore through my muscle. It's going to hurt like a son of a bitch getting around and no sex for a while. Dean was worried out of his mind when he saw us bleeding when they came back. They got me to the hospital but she died in the room at the house we were in and I 'didn't see who did it.' They gave me at least five sutures.

And now, we're in the Impala and I'm falling asleep by the second. Dean's in the back with me and I stole a pillow, well he actually let me borrow it, from Bobby's house so I'm using that over Dean's crotch so I can sleep. Sam is driving and we are going to meet Ruby. My eyes are closed and I fall asleep to the gentle roar of the Impala.

I'm woken up to Dean saying, "home, crappy home," while carrying me inside of the room and out of the rain. He lays me on the bed and I turn toward him, pulling him beside me. He sits and is startled by the angels in the room.

"Winchester, Winchester, and Jackson."

"Oh come on."

"You are needed." Uriel says to me. Yeah with me so I can sleep.

"Needed? We just got back from needed."

"You mind your tone with me."

"Well, you mind your damn tone with us." Dean starts to get up when I reach out and pull him back down. It hurts and I cry out but it gets him to sit back down next to me.

Cas wanders over and tries to heal me but I tell him it's fine. "Guys, angels, whatever, we just got back from Pamela's funeral. Can we get a few hours of shut-eye before you get Dean to do whatever you need from him. Give him time to recuperate and get all of his strength back before doing something. Don't want him falling asleep or getting hungry on the job, do ya?"

"We raised him out of hell, for our purposes."

"Yeah, what were those again? What exactly did you want from him? We just saved a seal and someone died in the process, a good friend of ours. Let him rest before taking him away."

"Start with gratitude."

"Ella, we know this is difficult to understand," Cas starts.

"And we don't care," Uriel finishes. I look back to Cas, he's not saying anything. "Now seven angels have been murdered. All of them from our garrison. The last one was killed tonight."

"Demons? How are they doin' it?"

"We don't know."

"I'm sorry, but what do you want us to do about it?" Sam asks. He's been pretty quite through out this entire ordeal. "I mean a demon with the juice to ice angels has to be out of league, right?"

"We can handle the demons, thank you very much."

"Once we find whoever it is."

"So you need our help, hunting a demon?"

"Not quite," Cas says coming to stand next to Uriel. "We have Alastair."

"Great, he should be able to name your trigger man."

"But he won't talk. Alastair's will is very strong. We've arrived at an impasse."

"Yeah well he's like a black belt in torture. I mean you guys are out of your league."

"That's why we've come to his student." I sit up and I'm immediately against it.

"No. He's not doing it. If I have to send you sons of bitches away from here, I will. Y'all are not making Dean do this."

Uriel ignores me. "You happen to be the most qualified interrogator we've got."

"Ella, Dean's our best hope."

"No," We say at the same time.

"No way is he gonna do that. You can't ask him to do this Cas. Not this." Uriel wanders over to me and bends down to look me in the eye.

"Who said anything about asking?" Then he presses his fingers to mine and Dean's foreheads and we are in a room that looks exactly like the room Cas showed me. Except this one hs Alastair inside of it on a pentagram.

"This devil's trap is old Enochian. He's bound completely," Cas tells us as we look through the small window in the door.

"fascinating, where's the door?" Dean asks, taking my hand and pulling me with him to find it.

"Where are you going?" Cas asks.

"Hitch back to Cheyenne thank you very much." We walk past and then Uriel is in front of us.

"Angels are dying boy,"

"Everyone's dyin' these days. And hey I get, you're all-powerful and you can make me do whatever you want man, but you can't make me do this."

"This is too much to ask, I know," Cas says strutting toward us. "But we have to ask it."

Dean turns back to Uriel from look at Cas. "I want to talk to Cas alone with Ella."

"I think I'll go seek revelation. We might have some further orders."

"Oh get some doughnuts while you're out," Dean says sarcastically. Uriel laughs, like actually laughs.

"This one just won't quit, will he?"

"He thinks with his stomach," I tell him.

"I think I'm starting to like you boy. Ella too." Then he's gone.

"You guys don't walk enough, you're gonna get flabby," Dean says. I laugh and the wince. Dean wraps his arm around my side and checks my sutures. "You know I'm starting to this junkless has a better sense of humor than you do," Dean says, smiling slightly.

"Uriel is the funniest angel in our garrison. Ask anyone." I smile.

"What's goin' on, Cas?" Dean asks serious again. "Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?"

"My superiors have began to question my sympathies."

"Sympathies?" I ask.

"I was getting to close to the human's in my charge. You. Ella. They feel I've begun to express emotions, doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgement."

"Well, tell Uriel, or whoever, you do not want me doin' this. Trust me."

"Want it, no. But I've been told we need it."

"You ask me to open that and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out." I place my hand on his shoulder and I rub my thumb on it, trying to give him comfort.

"For what it's worth, I would give anything not to have you do this. But Ella is here, she'll support you and tell you, if the angels need it do it. She's here to keep you on track Dean. Do it so we don't take her away." Dean closes his eyes, taking a deep breath and reopens them. He bends to kiss me, long and hard. He walks away, opening the door we were peering through earlier. He walks in with a cover table.

"What under that cloth?" I ask Castiel.

"Nothing you would approve of."

* * *

After about an hour of listening to Alastair's screaming and groaning I can't handle it anymore.

"Cas can you take away my hearing or something? Just for a while?"

"No." The lights flicker. "Anna," Cas says.

"Hello Castiel. Ella."

"Your human body."

"It was destroyed, I know. But I get I'm sentimental. Called in some old favors."

"You shouldn't be here. We still have orders to kill you."

"Somehow I don't think you'll try. Where's Uriel?"

"He went to receive revelation."

"Right," Anna says, peering through the small window at Dean's back. "Why are you letting Dean do this?" She asks us.

"Well for one, you're not our boss. God is Castiel's and he commanded it. Two, it would have ended badly for one of us if we hadn't. And three, it was mine and Dean's decision, not yours." I tell her. "You have no right to be pissed off about it. You're just a girl he tried to save. It's not like you have any feelings right now anyway."

"It's God's work? Stop him Castiel. Please. Or you'll ruin the one real weapon you have."

"Who are we to question the will of God?" Cas says.

"Unless this isn't his will."

"Then do the orders come from?"

"I don't know. One of our superiors maybe. But not him." I'm getting mad now. She shouldn't be here, trying to get Dean out of it. He's already started and he's already made the decision to do it whether it affects him greatly or not so much. "The father you love, you think he wants this? You think he'd ask this of you? You think this is righteous? What your feeling, it's called doubt. These orders are wrong and you know it." She places her hand on top of Castiel's. "But together we can."

"Together? I am nothing like you." Cas rips his hand away from her's. I smile and cheer internally. "You fell. Go."

"Cas."

"Go. Or I'll get Ella to force you to."

"She's injured. She can't do anything."

"You want to find out if she can or not? Cause she can." I hear the flutter of wings, telling us she's gone.

"Cas! Alastair!" I say when I look back in the window. He rushes into action. I see Dean on the floor, I want to go to him, but my injury wont let me do it. Then Alastair shove Cas into the wall and he's speaking latin, trying to send Cas back to heaven. I walk in unnoticed and grab the demon knife. I stab Alastair in the side with it and then Sam comes in and starts doing his mind thing that Dean was telling me about. I grab the knife and move out-of-the-way, tearing my stitches in the process. I clutch my side and hobble over to Dean.

I hear that Alastair doesn't know. Then Sam says he's stronger than before. Now he can kill. I'm shocked. Then he does it. He kills Alastair. Castiel is stunned and upset. Sam comes to help me take Dean to the hospital because he's knocked unconscious.

* * *

I want to be sitting with him right now, but Sam saw all of the blood on my shirt and sent me in to get my sutures fixed.

Once I'm fixed a nurse helps me into a wheel chair and wheels me to Dean's room. I sit in there, holding Dean's hand. His face is bruised and cut. He doesn't have that breathing tube down his throat anymore. According to Sam, he had one when he was first admitted, now he's breathing on his own.

He wakes after a few minutes and I squeeze his hand. "Heya girlfriend." I smile at the nickname he is so determined to use. "Why are you in a wheel chair? Why is there blood on your shirt?" His voice is raspy and he needs water and to rest. I'm about to respond when Cas does for me.

"Her stitches ripped while she was saving me." Dean looks past me and sees Cas. "Are you alright?"

"No thanks to you." Dean looks away from Cas and back to me. "Come up here," Dean asks. I get up slowly and Dean scoots over. I climb onto the bed and lay with him. His arm is around my body, fingers tracing my hip. I rest my head on his chest and I'm glad I'm on my right side.

"You need to be more careful."

"You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap." Dean kisses the top of my head and I close my eyes, listening to the sounds of their voices.

"That's not what I mean. Uriel is dead."

"Was it the demons?" Dean looks at

"It was disobedience. He was working against us."

"Is it true? Did I break the first seal?" Where is he getting all of this mumbo jumbo? It can't be true. "Did I start all this?"

"Yes," Cas replies. I hold Dean, knowing he's going to lash out. "When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid seige to hell and we fought our way to get to you before you..."

"Jump started the apocalypse."

"But we were too late."

"Why did you just leave me there then?"

"It's not blame that falls on you Dean. It's fate. The righteous man who begins it, is the only man who can finish it. You have to stop it. That's why Ella's here. It's been set in stone for a long time Dean. She's to help you stay on the road to the apocalypse."

"Lucifer? The apocalypse? What does that mean?" I can hear his voice breaking. Cas looks away. "Hey, don't you go and disappear on me you son of a bitch, what does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Bull." Dean says. I can feel his chest rumble when he speaks. I trail my fingers up and down his sternum, trying to calm his down before he grips my side too much tighter and he breaks my stitches again.

"I don't." He turns back to us. "Loosen your grip on her. You're going to hurt her." Dean does. "Dean, they don't tell me much. I know how our fate, rests with you."

"Well then you guys are screwed. I can't do it Cas, it's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not strong enough." I can feel a tear drop onto my head. I sit up and wipe his tears. I unwrap his arm and I sit up and I hold him. "Well I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me." Cas disappears and we sit in silence, my arms around his shoulders, holding him to me for comfort.

* * *

The next couple of weeks were the same, hunts and drinking and laughing, yes laughing. I finally got my stitches out but I'm still stuck on research and FBI. Dean wont let me do anything else. I feel kind of useless cause I'm not back in action and I also need to train a little bit beyond my self-defense training I finished a month before I left, which was lucky. I've talked to Dean about it and he thinks it's a good idea but he's really worried about me going with them on hunts, tackling the monsters, and frankly so is Sam. Because I've gotten hurt every time I've encountered one, which is fine with me. They get hurt too.

We are in a motel, after the last hunt resting and looking for our next case when Dean hops in the shower. I turn to Sam who is on the computer at the table.

"Sammy, will you teach me some self-defense against monsters? Dean would never go for and would say something like I'm not gonna face one so why learn? I just want to be prepared."

"I understand. Yeah, I'll teach you. Who knows if a demon or another monster is going to find its way to the motel in the future. Ever time you've ever encountered one so far you've gotten hurt, whether it badly of not. You'll be fine. What do you know already?"

"I took a basic self-defense course and an advanced one too."

"Good. So you know the basics." I nod. "Our dad was an ex-marine so I'll teach you a lot of combat moves. When do you want to start?"

"Soon, but Dean can't know. He really doesn't like me even being involved in the supernatural with y'all."

"But you are. Sucks to be him. He can deal."

"That's what I said!" I tell Sam agreeing with him.

"All right we will start within the next week or two so you can get back to your full health again. We'll start out easy and work our way up. I'll teach you when Dean is out and we are supposed to be doing research or something."

"Okay. I know just how to keep my cardio up too." Sam's bitch face is back and I laugh.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

**Ella**

We walk into a comic book store and dressed as FBI agents as normal and we see the cashier at the register.

"Uh, can I help you?"

"Sure hope so, agents DeYoung, Best, and Shaw. Just need to ask you a few questions."

"Notice anything strange in the building the last couple of days?" Sam asks.

"Like what?"

"Some other tennats reported flickering lights," I tell him.

"Uh, I don't think so. Why?"

"What about noises? Any skittering in the walls kind of like rats?" I wasn't sure if my facts were right but no one said anything.

"And the FBI is investigating a rodent problem?"

"What about cold spots?" I ask again. "Feel and sudden drops in temperature?"

"I knew it! You guys are LARPing aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" Dean says.

"You're fans."

"Fans of what?" Sam asks.

"What is LARPing?" Dean is frustrated.

"Like you don't know." We look at him like, well we don't so please explain. Well I do. "Live-action-role-play. And pretty hard-core too."

"Sorry, we have no idea what you're talking about," I tell him.

"You're asking questions like the building haunted. Like those guys from the books. Though they didn't have a girl with them. What are they called? Supernatural. Two guys use fake I.D.'s with rock aliases to hunt down ghosts, demons, vampires. What are their names? Steve and Dirk? Sal and Dane?"

"Sam and Dean?" I ask, hesitantly.

"That's it!"

"You're saying this is a book?" Dean says.

"Books," the clerk clarifies, "it was a series. Didn't sell a lot of copies though. Kind of a more under ground cult-following." He gets up and we follow him. He looks in the bargain bin and hands me the book. "Ah there. That's the first one I think."

"Supernatural by Carver Edlund." I turn it over. "Along a lonely California high way a mysterious woman in white lures men to their deaths." Sam and Dean are shocked. Sam grabs it out of my hands and I let him take it.

"We're gonna need all the copies of supernatural you got." Sam tells him.

* * *

"This is freakin' insane," Dean says after reading about half of one of the books. "How does this guy know all this stuff?" Sam is doing research to figure out who Carver Edlund is.

"Are all of these, your guys' hunts?" I say, reading the one called _Heart_, and I'm at the part where Sam is kissing Madison in bed. "Did Madison and the sex really happen? It's pretty detailed in here." Dean takes the book out of my hands.

"I don't want you to read my brother having sex." I roll my eyes and pick up another to skim through it. I look at the cover and it's called _Route 666_. "Everything is in here. Everything. From the racist truck to me having sex."

"Sam too."

Dean ignores what I just said. "I'm full frontal in here dude."

"You really are Dean." He takes the book out of my hands again.

"Don't let her have anymore books unless you're certain there is no sex in it," Dean tells Sam. "How come we haven't heard of them before?" Dean gets up and sits next to Sam at the table.

"They're pretty obscure. Almost zero circulation. Started in '05. Publisher put out a couple dozen before going bankrupt. And the last one, _No Rest For The Wicked_, ends with you going to hell." Sam turns the laptop to Dean to show him.

"I reiterate, freakin' insane. Check it out, there's actually fans. Not many of them, but still. Did you read this?"

"Yeah."

"Although for fans, they sure do complain a lot. Listen to this Sympatico says '_The demon story line is trite, clichéd and overall craptastic._' Yeah well screw you Sympatico, we lived it."

Sam chuckles. "Yeah well keep on reading. It get's better."

"There are Samgirls and Deangirls and what's a slash fan." I start laughing.

"As in, Sam/Dean. Together."

"Like _together_ together?"

"Yeah." I laugh at how disgusted they are. It's like that with every book and TV show and movie.

"They do know we're brothers right?"

"Doesn't seem to matter."

"Oh come on, that's just sick." Dean closes the laptop.

"Don't worry Dean. No one wants you to get with your brother. It's fiction." I go to them. "How about this, there's a convience store just down the road it's a quick walk, and I go get you some pie? That sound good?"

Dean looks up and smiles. "Yes."

"Sam, you want anything while I'm out?"

"No, I'm all right." I nod and slip on my boots. Dean tosses something at me and I catch it. It's the keys.

"It's quicker." I roll my eyes and go while they continue to talk.

Dean eats his pie when I get back and he loves it. I just picked out the one that looked the best and it happened to be apple. Though I do take a bite sometime in the middle of him eating his pie. I just wanted some and he looks and me and I smile at him, then kiss his cheek. Sam and Dean decide that the next day we should go to the publisher and find out Carver Edlund's real name. So we leave the next morning.

* * *

"So you published the supernatural books?" I ask.

"Yep. Yeah, gosh. These books. You know they never really got the attention they deserved. All anybody wants to read anymore is that romance crap. You know, Dr. Sexy M.D. Please." I smile because I know Dean has a soft spot for Dr. Sexy.

"Well we're hoping that our article can shine a light on an underappreciated series," Sam tells her.

"Yeah, yeah because you know if we got a little bit of good press, then maybe we could start publishing again."

"No, no, no, no. I mean, would you want to do that? It's uh, such a complete series with Dean going to hell and all."

"Oh my God, that was one of my favorite ones. Because Dean, was so strong and sad and brave. And Sam, I mean the best parts are when they cry." I try so hard not to laugh and I hide behind Sam so she doesn't see me. "Like in _Heart_ when Sam had to kill Madison, the frist woman since Jessica he really loved. And in _Home_ when Dean had to call John and ask him for help." I'm shocked that Sam killed her. I was going to get to there after the sex but, no. Dean had to take the book away from me. I'll read it tonight. The publishing lady is almost in tears. "If only real men were so open and in touch with their feelings."

"Real men?" Dean asks, offended.

"No offense. How often do you cry like that?" All the time lady. Every hunt there's always the part at the end when we are driving away and they have a heart to heart.

"Well right now I'm crying on the inside."

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Now she's offended.

"Lady, this whole thing is funny." He chuckles under his breath.

"How do I know you guys are legit?"

"Oh trust me, we're legit."

"Well I don't want any smart ass article makin' fun of my boys." Your boys? Mine, lady, back off.

"No, no, no, no. Never," I tell her.

"We are actually big fans."

"You've read the books."

"Cover to cover," I tell her, kicking Dean in the shins for not letting me read them.

"Year and model of the car?"

"1967 Chevy Impala," I answer before Dean. I've wanted his car since before I was in middle school.

"What's May 2nd?"

"That's my uh... That's Sam's birthday."

"January 24th is Dean's." I kick him again because he never told me any of this. How rude of him. Both of them.

"Sam's score on the LSAT?"

"1...74?" Sam says acting unsure. He knows what he got, it's a high score.

"Dean's favorite song?"

"It's a tie. Between Zep's '_Ramble On_' and '_Travelin' Riverside Blues_'." I tell her. I actually knew this one. She smiles.

"Okay, what do you wanna know?"

"What's Carver Edlund's real name?" Sam asks.

"Oh, no. I'm, no. Sorry. I can't."

'We just want to talk to him. You know get the '_Supernatural_' story in his own words."

"He's very private. Just like Salinger."

"Please. We're big, big fans." He unbuttoned his shirt and shows her his antipossession tattoo. Dean pulls down his shirt a little and shows her. She looks to me.

"Don't make me pull my pants down." I got one after Dean and I got together the first time in the Impala because he told me it protects against possession and I just wanted to be safe. It's on the back of my thigh. She looks at me. I unbutton my pants and I pull them down over my ass and I turn for her to see it. Sam politely looks away while Dean is staring. She smiles when I stand back up.

"I got one too." She pulls her pants down and her's is on her ass. I cover Dean's eyes until she puts her pants on. Sam can gladly look, not Dean. "Okay, his name's Chuck Sherley and he's a genius so don't piss him off."

* * *

We leave and head to his address which is just over ten miles away from the publishing house. We walk up and Dean presses on the door bell.

"Chuck Sherley?" I ask. "The one who wrote the supernatural books?"

"Maybe, why?"

"I'm Dean, this is Sam and Ella. The Dean and Sam you've been writing about." He's shocked but shuts the door. Dean presses on the doorbell again. And he opens the door, again.

"Look uh, I appreciate your enthusiasm, really I do. But it's nice to hear from the fans, but for your own good I strongly suggest you get a life." He starts to shut it and Dean puts his hand out.

"See here's the thing. We have a life, you've been using it to write your books." They barge in and I am behind them walking in and slowly closing the door.

"Now wait a minute, this isn't funny."

"Damn straight it isn't funny."

"Look," I start, "we just wanna know how you're doing it."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You a hunter?" Dean asks.

"No, I'm a writer."

"Then how do you know so much about Demons, and tuplas and changelings?"

"Is this some kind of misery thing? Ah it is isn't it? It's a misery thing!" Dean exchanges a look with me and I shrug.

"It's not a misery thing, believe me we are not fans."

"Well then what do you want?"

"I'm Sam, and that's Dean. She's Ella." Chuck is again shocked.

"Sam and Dean are fictional characters. I made them up. They're not real!" I walk outside and they all follow after asking. Dean opens the trunk and shows them what's in it. "Are those real guns?"

"Yep, and this is real rock salt, these are real fake I.D.'s," Dean tells him.

Chuck giggles a little. "I gotta hand it to you guys, you really are my number one fans. That's awesome, so I think I got some posters in the house."

"Chuck, stop," I order.

"Please, wait, please don't hurt me."

"How much do you know?" I ask. "Do you know about the angels? Or Lilith breaking the seals?"

"Wait a minute, how do you know about that?"

"Question is, how do you?" I ask.

"Cause I wrote it."

"You kept writing."

"Yeah, even after the publisher went bankrupt. But those books never came out. Okay, wait a minute. This is some kind of joke, right? Did that.. Did Phil put you up to this?"

"Well, nice to meet ya, I'm Dean Winchester and this is my brother Sam and my girlfriend Ella Jackson," Dean introduced, linking our fingers together.

"The last names were never in the books. I never told anybody about that, I never even wrote that down. Ella is a new character introduced in these new books. She's Dean's girlfriend." He goes inside and we follow. Chuck takes a shot of alcohol, don't know what kind, and turns to us. "Oh! Oh you're still there." Dean agrees. "You're not a hallucination."

"A good synonym for hallucination is phantasmagoria. With a 'ph' at the beginning."

"Well there's only one explanation. Obviously, I'm a God."

"You're not a God," I retort.

"How else do you explain it? I write things and then they come to life. Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. The things I put you through, the physical beatings alone."

"Yeah, we're still in one piece."

"I killed your father. Both of yours. Burned your mother alive. Your's was kidnapped and God awful things happened." I turn quiet and I start wandering the house, not listening to the rest of it.

"I'm going out to the car," I tell Dean." I walk outside before he can say anything. I sit in the back of the car and I fight tears. I don't cry, why am I almost in tears now?

* * *

The boys come out a bit later and we leave to go to the laundromat to do laundry. I separate my clothes and I stick them in two washers while Sam and Dean are talking. I'm still quiet and Sam gives me a worried look, It's uncommon for me to be so quiet, usually I'm throwing in a smart ass comment or two. I sit on the table next to the bag Sam is grabbing clothes out of.

* * *

We finish out laundry in a couple of hours and we leave to head back to the room. We get out and Dean holds me back a till Sam goes inside.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dean asks. I know I shouldn't snap at him but I do.

"Nothing."

"Ella,"

"Just drop it Dean, okay?" I stalk away from him and go into the room. I walk into the bathroom and slam the door right as he walks in. I don't lock the door but I want to. I turn the shower on and I undress and step under the spray. I wash my hair and I sit down, opposite of the spray so my hair doesn't dry out. Not like, not wet dry but not soft dry. The tears come and I can't help but cry. I don't want to, but I know I won't feel better till I do. I'm a silent crier, thank goodness and I can turn off the water after a while. I sit on the floor in my towel crying against the tub for at least a few minutes. I can't stand crying and I don't want the boys to see me cry again.

Why did Chuck say anything in front of them? I didn't want them to know and I sure as hell didn't want to remind myself of what happened that night. I'm not particularly fond of my mother but I still care because I'm a caring person, I've always been told and I've come to believe it. I'm upset that Chuck brought it up after eight years of not thinking about it.

I come out of the bathroom in my towel and I dig around in my bag for a shirt and some underwear and shorts. I go back in the bathroom and lock myself in. I get dressed and as I'm rinsing my face so it doesn't look like I've been crying, there's a knock on the bathroom door.

"Ella?" It's Sam.

"What?" I say through the door. Did Dean think it would be a good idea to see if I would open up to Sam instead?

"Dean left to go get some food. I just wanted to talk to you." I don't say anything. "No, Dean didn't put me up to this. It's all my own." I sigh and open the door. His puppy dog eyes are turned up all the way and it's almost impossible to deny him of anything.

"I'm not talking about it."

"That's fine, I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"Not really." He nods.

"I'm here." I don't do anything to tell him I heard but I do wrap my arms around his waist. I just need a brotherly hug right now and he's the closest thing I've got to a brother at the moment. My actual brother is still in Kansas.

"Sam, I just really need a hug from the closest 'relative' I have so, please hug me back." He does.

"You know, Dean's worried about you."

"I want to say he shouldn't worry but maybe he should. It's not like I'm going to do anything drastic, maybe just not be as talkative for a few weeks. Maybe a month. It's not good when old memories get brought up."

"Okay, as long as you tell one of us before we die, we're good."

I chuckle. "Deal." I pull away as I see headlights and the rumble of the Impala pull up to the motel. I lay down on the bed, I'm sure Dean and I are using and I turn to Sam who is sitting on the other bed. "Did you really have to kill Madison? I get that she was a werewolf but it totally spaced that it was something that y'all usually kill."

He's quiet for a second before he answers. "Yeah. But that was two years ago."

"Dean took the book away before I could finish it."

"Here," he says digging in his bag. He finds it and hands it to me. "Read the rest. Skip the sex, please? That's not something either of us wants you to read."

"Will do Sammy." He smiles and I open the book as Dean walks in.

"Oh you gave her the book again," Dean complains.

"She's skipping the sex, don't worry." Dean rolls his eyes. I close the book, my finger marking the spot I'm on. I get up, the book in hand, and I walk over to get the burger than Dean got me. I kiss him fairly quickly when Sam turns to go back to the bed.

Dean wraps his arm around my waist, setting it on my hip of course. "You good now?" He whispers in my ear.

I shake my head. "Not really," I whisper back. "It's been one of those days."

"Are you?"

"No, not for another week or two." He nods and kisses my cheek, letting me go before this gets awkward for Sam. "Let's go eat."

* * *

The next day Chuck calls us and we head on over. He's pacing and we're waiting for him to finally start talking. He hands me the pages.

"You wrote another chapter?"

"This was all so much easier before you were real."

"We can take it," I tell him, "just spit it out."

"You especially are not gonna like this."

"I didn't like hell," Dean comments.

"It's Lilith. She's coming for Sam."

I'm stunned. "Coming to kill him?" Dean asks.

Sam starts in on the conversation. "When?"

"Tonight." I flip through the pages and find the part where she's with him. I'm not there.

"Where the hell am I in all of this?" I ask.

"Here, all day. Sam and Dean don't want you hurt and don't want Lilith to possibly use you as bait." I hand them back to Chuck.

"She's just gonna show up? Here?"

"Uh lets see." Chuck puts his glasses on. " 'Lilith patted the bed seductively. Unable to deny his desire, Sam succumbed, and they sank into the throes of fiery demonic passion.' " Sam laughs.

"You're kidding right?"

"You think this is funny?"

"You don't? I mean, come on. "Fiery demonic passion"?

"It's just a first draft," Chuck said defensively.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Lilith is a little girl," Dean comments. Wait, what?

"No, uh, this time she's a comely dental hygienist from Bloomington, Indiana."

"Great. Perfect. So what happens after the fiery demonic, whatever?" I ask.

"I don't know, it hasn't come to me yet," Chuck says, sitting on the couch with the manuscript in hand.

"Dean, look, there's nothing to worry about. Lilith and me? In bed?" Sam laughed.

Dean glares at Sam then turns to Chuck. "How does this whole psychic thing of yours work?"

"You mean my process?"

"Yes, your process," Dean retorted.

"Well, it usually starts with a headache. A really bad headache. Aspirin is useless, so... I drink. Until I fall asleep. The first time it happened, I thought it was just a crazy dream."

"The first time you dreamt about us?" Sam asks.

"It flowed. It just, it kept flowing. It still does. I-I can't stop it, really."

Sam laughs. "You can't seriously believe..."

"Humor me." Dean gets up and is about to ask for the pages when Chuck hands them to Dean. "Look, why don't we, we just take a look at these and see what's what. You.."

"Knew you were gonna ask for that. Yeah."

"All right, Sam and I are gonna head out," Dean tells me as he walks out of the bathroom.

"Okay. Be safe. Don't get hurt." He nods and bends to kiss me. He leaves and I fall onto the couch. "Chuck, if I'm going to spend all day and maybe tonight with you, I don't want to leave you with unanswered questions. Spit it out."

"Why are you with Sam and Dean? Did the angels tell you?"

"You mean you didn't see when Cas came to me explaining everything when I blamed him for my father's death?"

"I did actually."

"So why are you asking?"

"I didn't know if, uh, maybe you knew something I didn't."

"Well I probably don't. Why did you bring up my mother yesterday?" He shrugs. I stand and get into his face although I'm 5'3" and he's 5'6" at least. "Because it really pissed me off. I was hit with flashbacks to that night and I don't like that, Chuck. I don't want to be reminded of it, let alone remembering exact details every time it's brought up. So do me a favor, and just not bring it up. Ever again." I turn and I sit on the couch again, pissed off.

* * *

I fall asleep at some point in the night and when I wake in the morning, Chuck is nowhere to be found. I'm mad again and I go to the bathroom. When I come back out, Dean is in the living room.

"Ella, where's Chuck?"

"No clue." I go up to him and I kiss him.

"Brought some clothes." I smile and kiss him again.

"Thank you Dean." I go back to the bathroom and I change. When I come back out, Cas is out there with Dean and Chuck. I hand Dean my clothes.

"Hello Ella."

"Hey Cas."

"If you three will please excuse me one minute." Chuck walks upstairs where I just came from.

"Him? Really?"

"You should have seen Luke."

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Chuck is a prophet of the lord," Cas clarifies.

"Why'd he get tapped?" Dean asks.

I sit while Cas starts explaining what he knows. "I don't know how prophets are chosen. The order comes from high up on the celestial chain of command."

I look at Cas. "How high?"

"Very."

"Well, whatever. How do we get around this?" Dean asks, irritated and itching for an answer.

"Around what?"

"The Sam-Lilith love connection. How do we stop it from happening?"

"What the prophet has written, can't be unwritten. As he has seen it, so it shall come to pass," Cas tells him in the most proper way possible, then disappears. I sigh and so does Dean.

"Dean, come here." He does after a second. "We're going to figure this out. I know you don't want to face Lilith, frankly I don't either, but you can ask for help. Remember that." He nods. "All right big boy. Go fight. Or get ready to drag Sam's large body out of that motel room."

He laughs. "Be safe." It's my turn to nod. I kiss him and he leaves. I get up and I get a glass of water and as I'm doing that, Chuck comes back downstairs and he's on the couch, sleeping. Great. I'm bored, I've got nothing to do. I look back to his computer. I go sit down. I love being one of the smart ones at school because I was taught how to hack into computers to see all of the person's files and I still remember how to do it. I go and I start reading his latest books.

* * *

After a few hours of reading, Dean bursts into the house. Chuck is surprised.

"What are you doing here? I didn't write this."

"Come on, I need you to come with me. You can come too Ella." I get up and I go straight to the Impala.

* * *

We go to the motel and Dean forces me to stay inside the Impala, like it's going to keep me safe from Lilith. I hear rumbling and the lights flicker inside the motel room and then at least ten seconds later it stops. I see black smoke rising from the roof of the motel. I stay inside the Impala for a few seconds before I realize that I have an antipossession tattoo so I am safe from possession.

Getting out, I close the door to the Impala and I go to the motel room door which is slightly ajar. I push it open and I see Dean on the other side of the threshold. I don't go any further for fear of a fight breaking out. Dean sees me and waves his hand, telling me it's cool to come in. When I do, I see Sam on the bed and Chuck next to Dean. Sam looks a little shaken, not stirred. I go to him and brush his hair back from his forehead.

"You okay?" I ask. He nods. "What did she do?"

"Wanted to make a deal."

"Were you?"

"I was going to try and kill her."

"Well I'm glad you tried. Come on, let's take Chuck home then leave this God forsaken town." He nods. I leave and get in the back of the Impala with Chuck who oddly smells like vanilla and alcohol. Maybe the vanilla is me. I think it's me not him.

* * *

When we are on the road again, I'm quiet as I listen to Sam and Dean talk. "So a deal, huh?"

"That's what she said."

"To call off the whole thing. Angels, seals, Lucifer rising, the whole nine?"

"That's the gist of it," Sam tells him, shifting to lean against the window.

I look at Dean through the mirror. "Huh."

"What?"

"You didn't think once about taking it?"

Sam sits up, astounded. "You kidding me? Dude you spent all day trying to talk me off the Lilith track." Dean mumbles something and Sam speaks again, "She would have found some way to weasel out of it. And it all would have cost us our lives. Anyway, that's not the point."

"What is the point?"

"The point is, she's scared. I could see it. Lilith is running."

"Running from what?"

Sam shifts to lean against the window again, saying, "Don't know. But she was telling the truth about one thing."

"What's that?"

"She's not gonna survive the apocalypse. I'll make sure of that."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: There's a little surprise in here for you guys! Review and tell me if I did good with it or not.

**Chapter Twelve**

**Ella**

Sam and I get out of the Impala while Dean sleeps in the back. We sit on the hood and talk.

"Can you tell me about some old cases you and Dean have done?"

"Sure. It's pretty interesting going up against some of the weirder ones. Like the first hunt I went on with him was four years ago, I was in college with my girlfriend Jess at the time and it was for the weekend." He chuckles, hanging his head down a little. "Dean, he broke into my apartment like he does every where and he was real sarcastic about it till he was actually telling me why he was there. I remember it so clearly. Jess was standing next to me and Dean said 'Dad hasn't been home in a few days' then I said, 'So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later.' And Dean being the sarcastic, serious guy that he is, said 'Dad's on a hunting trip and he hasn't been home in a few days'."

"So that's how it all got restarted?" He nods.

"That was the first time back in four years and I was going to become a lawyer and marry Jessica. I had everything planned out, I even had an interview set up that Monday. But naturally I went with Dean to hunt in Jericho and it was a Woman in White, sometimes called a Weeping Woman. Haven't really run across one of them in a while. They're scary when they're pissed off."

"I figured. What are they?"

"They're spirits of women. See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them. And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again."

"Oh. Well I could take care of one of those. I'm a female. And I'm not unfaithful."

"Maybe. I've never heard of a woman going after a woman in white." I shrug. "Did Dean ever tell you that he thought he had a kid?"

"No, that's actually kind of funny. Boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"I want kids. Two boys."

"I wanted kids too when I was in college with Jessica. Then she died and I went back on the road again."

"That's sad. Well obviously. I just never know what to say when someone dies. But I can say I know how it feels."

"I know, I was there." I bump his shoulder to get him to feel a little bit better. "Alright, want to know some more cases?"

I nod. "Yes I do, Sammy."

He rolls his eyes. "I remember we visited mom's grave after dad died and when we were leaving, there was a large circle around one of the graves. A girl named Angela I think. She was a zombie brought back by a Greek ritual, used for necromancy."

"I wouldn't have worked that case. I would have hidden in the corner till it was gone, then I would of had to have one of you check the entire motel room and leave all of the lights on and one of you would of had to sleep with me to keep me sane." Sam laughs at me. "Hush gigantor. It's a real fear." He stops laughing after a few minutes and after I started laughing myself. We turn as we hear the backseat door open and Dean gets out.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" Sam asks.

"How do you think? I'm starving. Let's get breakfast."

"Where? We're like two hours from anything."

"But I'm hungry now." I laugh at him.

"There's probably still a sandwich in the backseat," I offer. He sneers and I jump off the hood and drag him over to me. I kiss his cheek. I reach into the backseat, grab the paper bag, sniff it, and turn away. "It's tuna nevermind."

Then the phone starts ringing. We all check our's then Dean walks to the glove compartment and pulls out a phone.

"Isn't that dad's?" Sam asks.

"Hello?" Dean answers. "He can't come to the phone. Can I help you?" A pause. "Well, sorry to be the one to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago. Who is this?" Dean walks away and starts talking to him. I look to Sam.

"Why is he so pissy today?" Sam shrugs.

"Far as I can tell, he needs to sleep in a real bed tonight." Dean walks back over.

"He said he was dad's son." Sam and I go quiet, really quiet.

* * *

We pull into Cousin Oliver's Hilltop Cafe and get out. We go to the back and Dean opens the trunk of the Impala.

"Dean, look, best I can tell, Adam Milligan is real," Sam tells him looking at his laptop which is open on top of the car. "Um, born September twenty-ninth, 1990 to Kate Milligan. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout. Graduated from high school with honors and currently goes to the University of Wisconsin—biology major, pre-med." Dean was getting his weapons out the entire time and I don't think he was listening.

"Dean, you listening?"

"This is a trap," is all Dean says. He walks into the diner and we follow, dropping the computer into the front seat. Dean leads us to a table with four chairs. He pulls two next to the plant and a third on the other side of him. I sit on Dean's right side with Sam on my other side. They argue a little and the waitress comes over.

"Hi, welcome to Cousin Oliver's. Can I.."

"We're actually waiting on somebody," Dean says a bit harshly. The waitress slaps the menus down and I push mine away. Dean replaces his water with holy water and his silverware with actual silver and the meeting went by smoothly. Well almost he was looking at me a little too long, a little too inappropriately. Dean was ready to shoot him for staring at me to long. Better let Dean know that I'm not leaving him for his kid brother. Though Dean get's defensive at one point, spilling that Sam and him are his sons not Adam. I have to put my hand on top of him before he would calm down enough to not yell or attack Adam.

Though Adam wants to prove it. He takes us back to his house and Dean's shocked that John took Adam to a baseball game. Though I want to get straight down to business.

"Adam, you said you called Dad because your mom was missing," I say.

"Yeah."

"How long has she been gone?"

"Three days."

"Who was the last person to see her?"

"Mr. Abbinanti, our neighbor. He saw her come home Tuesday night, but she never showed up to work on Wednesday." I look around as he's talking then look back when he's done.

"Did you call the police?"

"Mom's supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could. I should have been here."

"What did the cops say, sweetie?" I ask, hoping to make him feel just a touch better.

"That they, uh, they searched the house. They didn't find anything. She wouldn't leave without telling anybody. It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?"

He takes us to her room upstairs. "The nightstand was knocked over," Dean starts, "was there anything else?"

"Oh, not really. The sheriff said there's no sign of a break-in. What, you think the cops missed something?"

"Maybe. Yeah. They don't have my eyes."

"You're a mechanic."

"Yeah that's right."

"Dean, what else can you tell me about dad?"

"Trust me, kid, you don't want to know." Sam shows up with papers in his hands. "Give us a minute."

Adam sits on the edge of the bed looking at a picture of his mom, Kate.

"Are you okay?" He shakes his head. "Well don't worry about it. I know how it feels to lose a parent, even if she is only missing, she's still gone. I just recently lost my dad. Sam and Dean were there and they helped me through it."

They come back in and Dean is right there in his face asking questions again. "Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?"

"Uh, I don't think so. Why?" I notice scratches on the floor leading under the bed, Dean does too. "What is it?"

"Watch out." Dean moves pillows and then asks for help moving the mattress. "Give me a hand with the mattress." We look at the vent in the floor and then Sam and Dean look at me.

"Come on guys, just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm that small."

* * *

A minute later, I'm crawling through the vent with a flashlight. It's a bit difficult because my hips are so big and I have to army crawl through and yet hold a large flashlight. I stop and see blood. I grab the pistol Dean let me use for this trip and I crawl around the corner quickly and I point the gun. I lower it when I see blood and pieces of bone and flesh and hair.

I curse and crawl back out.

* * *

We're at the motel and Dean is cleaning the shot-gun while I sit with him, rubbing his shoulders. We hear a knock and Dean puts the shotgun down and Sam opened the door, revealing Adam.

"Who the hell are you?" Adam says as he pushes his way in past Sam.

"Adam, hey," Sam says. Dean quickly flips the blanket over the shotgun. "Take it easy."

"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay? My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you two, well, you tell me to call the cops, but you got to bail before they show? So, who are you really?" None of us say anything. I stop rubbing Dean's shoulders and I sit back on the bed. Dean reaches over and takes my hand, it's so unlike Dean. "Cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you talking earlier, something about grave robberies." Adam looks over and sees the end of the shotgun. "You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on." Again, no one says anything. "Please."

Sam's the first to drop the ball. "We're hunters."

"Sammy!" Dean and I say at the same time.

"He deserves to know, Dean, Ella."

"What do you mean 'hunters'?" We spill the beans and tell him everything. While we do just that, Dean and I end up moving to the dining table and we are drinking beers and holding hands, again. Which is definitely weird for Dean but I instigated it and I doubt he's going to deny some touching. "Okay, so, basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?"

"Godzilla's just a movie." Dean says.

"We hunt them. So did dad."

Adam nods. "Okay."

"Okay? That's it?" Dean says. I hit his arm. "What?" He says. I roll my eyes.

"What am I supposed to say?"

"That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says okay."

I hit Dean's arm again. "I just say, okay. You didn't question me."

"Well you believed us because of the circumstances." I rolled my eyes.

"Well you're my brothers and one of my brother's girlfriend. You're telling me the truth, right?" We all agree. "Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?"

"We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what," Sam tells him.

"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill," I tell him.

"You think maybe she might still be alive?" We all look down. I shake my head. "Oh," he says realizing it. "How can I help?"

"You can't," I tell him. "I'm barely helping and I'm better trained than you."

"This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in.

"No."

"Dean, look, maybe.."

"Maybe what?" Dean asks.

"He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like," Sam tells him.

"Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"

"Because..." Sam didn't get to finish.

"Because he was protecting him, Sam," I tell him. Dean and I are on the same page here. We usually are.

"Dad's dead, Dean."

"That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are gonna respect his wishes."

"Do I get a say in this?" Adam asks.

"No," The three of us yell at him. Dean gets up and unlinks his fingers from mine.

"Babysit the kid, Ella."

"Where are you going?" I ask kindly. Dean grabs his jacket and makes his way to the door.

"I'm going out," he tells me in the same tone I used with him. Good.

"Is he always like that?" Sam and I laugh.

"Welcome to the family," We say.

"Here." Sam pulls out his gun, takes out the clip and tosses it to me. He waves me over and I come sit with him on the bed. "I'm gonna teach you a few things."

"Uh, Dean said.."

"I know what Dean said. Sam's teaching me how to defend myself a little bit better behind Dean's back. It's fine Adam." Sam holds the unloaded gun out to Adam.

"And I know what it's like to want revenge," Sam tells him.

* * *

Adam learns how to disassemble the gun and Sam is showing me how to clean the shotgun.

"Sam, how did Dad really die?" I turn to Sam and I place my hand over his because I know it's hard for him.

"Demon."

"You hunted it down? Got revenge?"

"Dean killed it."

"So it's over for you."

"It's never over." After Sam tells him that, the lights go out. I'm immediately in action.

"What the," Adam starts but Sam quiets him down.

"Stay here," Sam says, as he loads the shotgun. He walks toward the bathroom door and opens it. He aims and nothing is in it. I take the gun out of Adam's hands and I slide the clip in. Sam and I both hear a noise and we turn toward the vent. "It's in the vents. Go!" Sam tells us. We do.

"Where's you car?" I ask.

"Over here."

"All right, keys." He tosses the keys to me and I grab them. I go to the driver's side and I am about to unlock the door when I'm pulled down. I hit my head, I'm going to have a major concussion. It pulls me under the truck till I stop myself by putting my hands on the side of the truck.

"Ella!" Adam yells. He runs around the side of the truck and grabs my arms. "Dean, help!" Adam yells again. My hands slip from Adam's and I'm about to be pulled under when Dean grabs my arms again and I scream from the claws digging into my legs. Adam and Dean end up pulling me out. Sam comes barreling towards us, slides over to us and reaches down and shoots. Dean is cradling me in his arms and I'm panting.

I hiss when I feel the pain in my legs. Damn it, I was wearing nice jeans too. Dean carries me to the Impala and sets me down in the back seat. He checks my ankle and I cry out in pain when he moves it the wrong way.

"You're not bleeding. You have a sprained ankle though."

"Thank God, but I hit my head pretty hard."

"Might have a concussion too."

"I'm okay Dean. You don't have to worry about me."

"I'm sorry, who's the one who almost got dragged under a truck and down probably into the sewer? And got a concussion in the process?"

"Hush." I lean forward and I capture his lips with mine. Dean pulls away after a few seconds. I pout.

"You've got a concussion missy. No need to be kissing me."

"There's always a need to be kissing you." I lean forward and pull his lips to mine, this time he enjoys it and savors it because Sam and Adam could always walk up and interrupt. Which happens. But by Dean. He pulls back, tells me he needs to back Adam's truck up so we can see what's under it, and kisses me quickly. He gets up and I watch him go to the truck.

The sewer grate is mostly open. I get up and lean onto the Impala with Sam. Dean gets out and stands over it with the shotgun pointed at it. I can tell there's blood.

"I winged it. Did you see anything, El?"

"I didn't get a good look." Dean puts the shotgun into the car and comes up to lean against the car with me. His arm is wrapped around me and his hand on my hip.

"What the hell is this thing?"

"Should we go after it?" Adam asks.

"No, no. In that maze? That thing's long gone," I tell him.

"All right, so, we don't know what it is, but we do know who it's going after. Joe Barton, Adam's mom—

"And Adam. It was under his truck, just waiting for him," I tell him. "It set a trap, and I walked right into it."

"You're not to blame, El. But it doesn't matter. You're right, there's a pattern. Joe Barton was a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out Dad. So we've got him, Dad's girl, and his son."

"All the people Dad knew in town."

"At least we know why it's back," I say. "It wants revenge."

* * *

We head back to Adam's and Dean leads me to the kitchen table where I can wrap my ankle.

"Grab your stuff we'll hit the road."

"We shouldn't leave," Sam tells Dean.

"Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked. Good one."

"I'm serious."

"No, Sam, we're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then you and me and Ella are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started."

I stop what I'm doing and I turn to Dean. "How? We got no leads, no witnesses," I tell him.

"We do have what this thing wants," Sam finishes.

"You want to use the kid as bait? That's why you want to stay here?"

"Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam, get him ready."

"He could die, Sam."

"We could all die, Dean. Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us. What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?" I finish rolling the ace bandage around my ankle and foot and I limp over to Dean. I lean on his arm and sigh. I'm exhausted and I just want to sleep.

"I'll do it. Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I want to do it," Adam announces. I stand up straighter and look at Dean, who's looking at Sam who's looking at Adam. Dean finally agrees.

* * *

The next day, Dean and I are at Adam's house while Sam and Adam are at the shooting range. It was fun having Dean teach me how to shoot after that shape shifter Dracula was going to make me his and kill Dean in the process. Dean did the cliché thing and put his arms around mine and the lingering looks, the kiss on the cheek when I made the bull's eye after God knows how many shots.

"Hey Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Sam and I were talking a couple of days ago about some cases.."

"Which cases did he tell you about?"

"That's irrelevant. Except for one. The changelings, and Lisa and Ben."

"You found out about that?"

"Well I could of read it in those books but I decided to respect your wishes to not read them. Sam is the one who told me. I didn't go asking about it."

"Damn it Sammy," Dean mutters under his breath. "What did he tell you?"

"Just that you thought you had a kid. But he's not your son." He hangs his head down. "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. But it will get brought up again later in life, if we're still alive."

"Ella, this would be hard for several reasons. One, we are together and it's great, we just aren't to the point of being serious enough to talk about that kind of stuff, like kids. Two, I don't do well with relationships. This is my first in a long time. Three, who's to say we will be together however many years from now?"

"I get it Dean, I do. I'll just not talk about it." I turn away from him and I limp to the couch in the living room.

"Ella," Dean says walking to the couch, sitting next to me.

"It's fine, Dean. I get it, you don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about a lot of things and you don't push at it. So I won't push at you to tell me." He sighs and rests his forehead on my shoulder.

"Ella, I want to talk to you about it, I just want to wait a while. Till we're more serious."

"How can we get more serious? We already share the same bed, have sex, have deep and intense conversations, I wear your shirts all the time. I've told you most everything about my life, same with you to me. There's really not much else we can do. At least while we're hunting. We already live together. It's not that hard to not be serious."

"Well there's a big problem with all of that."

"And what is that?" Dean lifts his head and stares me straight in the eye. I see it now. I see how his eyes twinkle and how they're filled with happiness instead of the sad I used to see. "Oh. I get it now." He means the L word. I never liked that sentence, I lo... I can't even think it. It's too drastic. "Without that sentence, I think we're serious enough."

"But that's the thing Ella. This is the most serious relationship I've had since Cassie."

"I know." I kiss his lips.

"I can't lose you, El." His forehead is resting against mine.

"You won't. Speaking of, Sam's teaching me some defense moves."

"Ella!"

"What? I'd keep myself safer if a monster decided to come after me." He sighs. I giggle. I kiss him again and I smile at him. He can't help but to smile back.

* * *

After a couple of hours Dean leaves and goes to check out the tomb again to see if he missed anything. And since I've got a twisted ankle I can't go with him. We salt and board up everything in the house. I'm downstairs when I hear Adam's mom scream his name.

Then all I hear is, "She's not your mother." I get up with my gun in hand and I aim at Kate.

"Look, Adam," I say. "That's not your mother." I limp over and I aim at her head. "Shoot it! It's not human," I tell him.

"I know." He hits Sam with the gun, knocking him out and Kate elbows me in the face.

* * *

I don't know how much later it is, but I'm tied to a table with Sam. He's on a different one. I start to move to sit up a little, but I'm tied down at the waist with duct tape. Sam's awake. I groan and he does too.

"Silver," I say. "No wonder none of the other tests worked. You're not shapeshifters." I say, "you're ghouls." Sam's curious as to how I know.

"You know, I find that term racist." She walks over to me and I turn my head away from her. She sniffs my neck and bites my ear. "Mmm. Fresh meat. So much better than what we're used to."

"I should have known. It was the fresh kills that threw me. Ghouls don't usually go after the living. See, you're just filthy scavengers, feeding off the dead—taking the form of the last corpse you choke down," Sam says.

"And their thoughts. And their memories. Like Adam, for instance," Ghoul Adam says.

"Well we are what we eat."

"You're monsters," I spat. Kate sticks the tip of the knife into my arm and pulls down. She draws a lot of blood. But instead of inflicting more pain or just stopping, she bends and starts sucking my blood.

"You know, you use that word a lot, Ella. But I don't think you know what it means," Ghoul Adam says. He slams the knife down into the wood next to Sam's head. I gasp.

"Her blood, it tastes different," Kate says. "It's delicious."

Ghoul Adam continues with his rant. "Our father was a monster? Why? Because of what he ate? He never hurt anyone, Sam, Ella. Living, anyway. No. He was no monster. But the thing that killed him was. A monster named John Winchester."

Kate stabs the knife into my side and pulls it out. I scream out in pain. Sam's protests are unheard. Adam sticks his finger into my side and pulls out a lot of blood. He licks it off of his fingers and moans in appreciation.

"Thanks to your daddy, my brother and I grew up on our own. At least we had each other," They say talking to Sam. "Like you and your brother. Inseparable. Actually, it was very hard to get you on your own. Like you said, Sam, the only thing you can count on is family," Kate says before drawing more blood out of my wounds. "And for twenty years, we lived like rats. Graveyard after graveyard, all that stinking flesh. Then we thought, 'hey, why not move up to fresher game?' And we knew just where to start."

Adam digs the knife into my cuts on my arms.

"Revenge, it's never over, is it, Sam?" Adam questions. "First, it was John's cop friend, and then his slut, and then his son. Then I called John, but the son of a bitch was already dead. So I guess you and Dean and Ella will have to do instead. Dean won't interrupt us this time. We're gonna feed on Ella nice and slow, like we did with Adam. Oh, and, by the way, he really was your brother. You should know that." They suck at my wounds.

"He was still alive when we took our first bites." They cut into my arms again and let my blood drip out into bowls placed under my arms to catch the blood. "And he was a screamer." I struggle against my restraints. "Ella, the more you struggle, the faster you're gonna bleed out. So you might as well lie back and relax."

"Hey!" I hear Dean's voice but my eyes are closed. He takes a shot and I don't know who he hits.

"Dean, they're ghouls!" He fires again.

"Which means headshot." I hear lots of fighting.

"Ella, come on, Ella. Stay awake just a little bit longer," Sam says. "Just a little bit longer. Dean's helping us. I promise, just fight to stay awake."

I remember what Dean said just hours earlier. 'I can't lose you, El.' I open my eyes and Sam looks somewhat relieved. I give him a weak smile and he shouts at Dean. He stops what he is doing, unties Sam's restraints, then mine. Sam isn't all bloody like I am. Dean grabs some towels and wraps me in them.

He takes me to the Impala and sits with me in the backseat murmuring things in my ear. Things like 'don't leave me' or 'I can't lose you Ella' or 'Stay with me Ella.' It was all very heartbreaking and I was conscious and I heard everything, my eyes were just closed.

* * *

**Dean**

Damn it! Why did I make her stay with Sam and Adam? Friggin' sprained ankle of her's. I set her on the bed in the motel and I lift her shirt up to inspect the damage and it's bad.

"Sammy, she needs stitches."

"Where?"

"Her side." He nods and gets what he needs out of our first aid kit. I take off her shirt and lay her back down on top of my legs. I hold her and I make sure all Sam can see in her stab wound. He cleans it and she hisses in pain. She buries her face into my arm and bites down on my jacket sleeve as he slides the surgical needle through her skin.

Once he's done, he bites off the remaining string and I sigh. He gets up to get the gauze bandages for her arms and her side. She's all bloody and injured. We should head up to Bobby's for a while, let her recover. Sam puts the gauze pads on and then goes to the bathroom to shower.

"Dean," Ella mumbles once the shower is turned on.

"Yeah?"

"Did you kill those sons of bitches?"

I chuckle. "I did. Rest, El. We'll be at Bobby's tomorrow night." She sighs and turns her head and gets comfortable. I hope she doesn't get this badly hurt again.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: So some secrets will be revealed in this one. I hope to end season four on chapter fourteen or fifteen and start season five with the next chapter. Let me know if Dean or Sam ever get out of character, I use most of their lines but change it up a bit some times. Ninety percent of all the lines about the cases are from the show.

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Ella**

We've been at Bobby's for over a week. It's been nice to take a break from hunting and I get to spend time with Dean. Lots of stuff has been going on. He worked on his car the first couple days we got there and I laid down in the front seat talking with him, because he didn't want to let me out of his sight, which was fine. We made out, a lot. Then the last few days we've been settled in, watching movies and talking and trying to find cases. Though I can tell we've been getting more serious.

Tonight was a little different than most. Dean and I are sleeping together on the floor while Sam was on the couch, like normal. I fell asleep around the same time Dean did.

Dean and I were on a small dock, sitting next to each other, fishing. It was relaxing. But then Cas shows up.

"We need to talk."

Dean and I slightly jump when he speaks. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?" We ask at the same time.

"It's not safe here. Some place more private."

"More private? We're inside my head."

"Exactly. Someone could be listening."

"Cas, what's wrong?" I ask.

"Ella, Dean, meet me here." He hands Dean a piece of paper. "Go now." Then he's gone.

I wake with a gasp. Same with Dean. I turn toward him and ask, "Did you just?" He holds up a piece of paper and nods.

"Yeah, I did."

* * *

We go to the abandon warehouse with Sam and he's shocked. We aren't shocked much.

"Well, what did he say? What was so important?" Sam asks.

"If we knew, would we be here?" We walk up some stairs which is kind of difficult on my side but it's getting better and I'm holding Dean's back pocket with two of my fingers to help me carry myself up. "What the hell?" Dean asks.

"It looks like a bomb went off," Sam notes. We walk further, shining our flashlights around and the electricity blowing everywhere.

"There was a fight here," I tell them.

"Between who?" Dean's flashlight light illuminates a symbol painted in blood on the wall.

"Check it out. Look familiar?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Anna used something like that to wish the angels back to the cornfield."

"Yeah after injuring me to do it. Dumb angel." Dean rubs my hip to calm me down.

"So, what? Cas was fighting angels?"

"I don't know," Dean and I say at the same time. We find Cas soon and Dean rushes over. "Sam. Ella. Cas? Cas. Hey, Cas?"

"What's... What's... What's going on?" He says.

"Just take it easy. Take it easy."

"Oh. No," He says. I'm confused.

"Cas, you okay?" Sam asks.

"Ugh. Castiel. I'm not Castiel. It's me."

"Who's 'me'?"

"Jimmy. My name's Jimmy."

"Where the hell is Castiel?" I demand.

"He's gone." Great we've got Cas' vessel and no Cas.

* * *

We take him back to the motel getting burgers on the way. We finish our burgers and throw the wrappers away when Jimmy finally starts eating after a shower.

"Mmm."

"You mind slowing down? You're gonna give me angina." I chuckle and slap Dean's arm with my free hand.

"I'm hungry."

"When's the last time you ate?" I ask him.

"I don't know. Months." He moans at the taste.

"What the hell happened back there? It looked like an angel battle royal."

"All I remember is a flash of light and I, I woke up and I was just, you know, like, me again." Cas.. No Jimmy takes another bite of his burger.

"So, what? Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?"

"I really don't know."

"You remember anything about being possessed? Anything at all?" Sam asks finally entering the conversation.

"Yeah, bits and pieces. I mean, angel inside of you, it's kinda like being chained to a comet."

"Ah, that doesn't sound like much fun," Dean mumbles.

"Understatement."

"Cas said he wanted to tell us something. Please tell me you remember that," I say.

"Sorry."

"Come on, what do you know?"

"My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois." Sam and Dean and I leave Jimmy inside after a couple of minutes and we go outside to talk about Jimmy's situation.

"So, what do we do?" I ask.

"What do you mean? The guy's got a family. We buy him a bus ticket, send him home," Dean tells us.

"I don't know about that. Dean, he's the only lead we got," Sam argues.

"He doesn't know anything."

"Are you 100 percent about that?" Sam asks.

"You think he's lying? What, you wanna go Guantanamo on the guy?

"Dean, maybe he doesn't even know what he knows," Sam says.

"Huh?"

"I say, at least we get him to Bobby's. Maybe all he needs is hypnosis or a psychic. Or hell, maybe Cas will just drop back into him."

"I don't know, man."

"Dean, back there, that was angel-on-angel violence. Now, I don't know what's going on, but it's big. And we can't just let the only lead we got just skip out," Sam tries to reason with Dean. Dean shakes his head. "What?"

"You remember when our job was helping people? Like, getting them back to their families?"

"You think I don't want to help him? I'm just being realistic. I mean, hell, we're doing him a favor."

"How?"

"Dean, if we want to question the guy, you can damn well bet the demons do, too." Dean sighs in defeat. We go back in, Sam first, then Dean helps me go inside. We tell him he can't go home yet.

"The hell are you talking about, I can't go home?"

"There's a good chance you have a bull's-eye on your back," I tell him, sitting down to prevent bending the wrong way and hurting myself even more. My stitches are out but it still hurts.

"What? From who?" Jimmy asks, shocked and disbelieving.

"Demons," Dean and I say at the same time.

"Come on, that's crazy. What do they want with me?"

"I don't know, information, maybe?" Dean offers.

"I don't know anything," Jimmy exasperates.

"I know, but..."

"Look, I'm done, okay? With demons, angels, all of it. I just want to go home."

"We understand," I tell him to make him feel better.

"I don't think that you do understand. I've been shot and stabbed and healed, and my body has been dragged all over the Earth. By some miracle, I'm out, and I am done. I've given enough, okay?"

"Look, all we're saying is that until we figure this out, the safest place is with us," Sam says sternly.

"How long?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Jimmy tries to get passed but I stand I put my hand on his chest, halting him.

"Where are you going?" I ask him, irritated that my side hurts.

"To see my wife and daughter, okay?"

"No, you're not. You're just going to put those people in danger," I inform him.

"So, what, now I'm a prisoner?"

"Harsh way to put it." Jimmy soon agrees to stay with us and we climb into bed. Well Jimmy does, Dean and I sleep on top of the covers and his hand is on my hip like normal. Before we went to sleep though, Dean drew up a bath for me so my sore wounds would heal better. He really is the sweetest.

* * *

The next morning, Sam wakes us up saying that Jimmy got away. I chuckle. He starts furiously packing his things while Dean brushes his teeth and we check on the bruises on my side.

"Dean, Ella. Would you hurry up?" Dean laughs, his toothbrush still in his mouth. He walks out of the bathroom after putting my shirt down. "Sorry, uh, this is funny to you?"

"Mr. Big-Bad-Prison-Guard, Jimmy McMook give you the slip? Yeah, it's pretty funny. What were you doing, anyway?"

"I was getting a Coke."

"Was it a refreshing Coke?" Dean asks sarcastically yet with lots of innocence in his voice. I laugh.

"Can we just go, please?"

* * *

We hit the road and I'm leaning against the window in the back seat for a while. Till Anna shows up.

"Hey, guys," She says looking at me.

"Aah! Jeez." Dean jerks the steering wheel and the Impala swerves before he gets it back under control.

"Smooth."

"You ever try calling ahead?" I ask, leaning against the window again.

"I like the element of surprise. You let Jimmy get away?"

"Talk to ginormo here."

"Sam. You seem different."

"Me? I don't know. Heh. A haircut?" He asks, nervous about it. Weird.

"That's not what I'm talking about. So, what'd Jimmy tell you? He remember anything?"

"Why? What's going on?"

"It's Cas. He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back."

"To heaven? That's not a good thing?" Dean asks.

"No. That's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad. He must have seriously pissed someone off.

"Cas said he had something to tell me. Something important." I say.

"What?"

"I don't know." I tell her.

"Does Jimmy know?"

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so? Whatever it is, it's huge. You gotta find out for sure."

"That's why we're going after Jimmy."

"That's why you shouldn't have let him go in the first place. He's probably dead already." She says effectively ending the conversation by disappearing.

* * *

We stop at a gas station then head to Jimmy's house. I moved up to the front seat at the gas station and I fell asleep on Dean's shoulder till we got to Jimmy's. I stay in the car while everything happens. After a few minutes, they come back out and pile into the car. Dean drives away quickly.

* * *

The six of us, pull into the gas station. the boys get out and I stay in with the girls talking with them. When I see Jimmy comes I get out and go to Sam and Dean.

"How are they going to take being separated again?" I ask.

"Not good. I wouldn't if I was separated from you and Sam," Dean says.

"God, that would be devastating."

* * *

Sam gives the girls a car and we leave. I fall asleep on Dean's shoulder so I don't hear their previous conversation but I do hear the 'oh my God' come from Jimmy's mouth.

* * *

"Alright, they're expecting you to come alone. That's exactly what you're gonna do," Dean tells him.

"We'll work our way through the catwalks. We'll be right behind you," I reassure. "All you gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job."

"You want me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about."

"Listen to me, this will work. You understand? Nobody's gonna get hurt," I say.

"Yeah, whatever. Give me a minute, okay?" He walks away and we are left alone.

"There's no way they're expecting him to come alone, Dean. You know this is probably a trap," Sam tells us.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I have a plan." I roll my eyes, what awesome plan does Dean have now.

Demons come soon and drag us back to the warehouse.

"Nice plan, Dean," I mock.

"Yeah, well, nobody bats 1,000."

"Got the knife?" Amelia asks. The demon holding Sam holds up the knife. She looks somewhat satisfied. "And you know what's funny?"

"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean jokes.

"Is I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap."

"Yeah, well, you got us, okay? Let these people go," Sam tries to reason with her.

"Oh, Sam. It's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh? Now for the punch line. Everybody dies." Amelia holds the gun up and quickly changes aim and shoot Jimmy in the gut. "Waste Little Orphan Annie."

* * *

Amelia leaves the room while the demon walks around Jimmy towards Claire, who is tied to a chair and unconscious. The demon picks up a large cylinder shaped object and swings it towards Claire. Suddenly, she grabs the pipe in one hand and places the other hand on the demon's forehead. The demon shouts in agony as he is exorcised. Using the distraction, Sam and Dean turn on the Demons holding them. While they struggle Claire, who is now possessed by Cas, burns away the ropes holding her against the chair. She walks to me and exorcises the demon holding me. Jimmy lies on the ground looking at her in horror.

"Castiel," Jimmy says. I rush to Jimmy with Cas trailing behind. I want Cas to fix him.

"Of course we keep our promises. Of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord. Rest now, Jimmy."

"No. Claire?"

"She's with me now. She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours."

"Please, Castiel. Me, just take me. Take me, please." Dean, Sam, and Amelia approach, but hold back when they see Cas and Jimmy talking while I'm there listening and trying to help, my maternal instincts kicking in.

"I wanna make sure you understand. You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it."

"It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me."

"As you wish."

Cas touches Jimmy's cheek and I turn away. Cas, now in Jimmy's body, he turns to me and presses his fingers to my forehead. He heals me. He stands and walks past Sam and Dean.

"Cas, hold up. What were you gonna tell me?" I ask.

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Ella. I serve heaven, I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve you." We watch as he walks away. Awesome.

* * *

When we are in the Impala Sam tries to pick a fight with Dean, which is annoying but I understand why he did it.

"All right, let's hear it."

"What?"

"Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing."

"I'm not gonna take a swing." Good.

"Then scream, chew me out."

"I'm not mad, Sam."

"Come on. You're not mad?"

"Nope."

"Right. Look, at least let me explain myself."

"Don't. I don't care."

"You don't care?"

"What do you want me to say, that I'm disappointed? Yeah, I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man. I'm done. I am just done."

My cell rings and it's Bobby. "Hey, Bobby," I answer.

"You and Dean set to do this?"

"Yes." Dean and I have a plan. It's one that will majorly piss Sam off, but it should help him.

"All right, head on up to my place. Let's see how good of an actress you are. Make something up, go."

"Oh my God, Bobby, are you okay? Tell me how we can help." He chuckles. "We're on our way right now. What is it you're dealing with?" Bobby scoffs in my ear. I refrain from smiling. "Okay. We'll be there soon. We're just outside of Illinois." I hang up. "Bobby's got a case at his place. We need to leave and go there now. It's a big demon problem." I tell them. Dean presses his foot down on the accelerator. He winks at me in the review mirror while Sam leans on the window to sleep and get his energy back.

* * *

We get to Bobby's and we follow him downstairs to the panic room. I love that room way too much.

"Well, thanks for shaking a tail."

"Yeah, you got it," Dean tells him. Sam opens the door to the panic room

"Go on inside. I wanna show you something." Sam walks in while the three of us hang back.

"All right. So, uh, what's the big demon problem?"

"You are. This is for your own good." We close the door and lock it. He walks up to the door, confused.

"Guys? Hey, hey. What?" Bobby closes and latches the window. "This isn't funny. Guys! Hey! Guys!"

I run up the stairs, not able to handle Sam's screams. I hear Bobby breifly before I start walking again.

"Well go on, she's your girlfriend, not mine." I go outside and wander into the maze of cars. I find a nice, high stack and I sit down. A few minutes later, I hear Dean's shoes crunch on the gravel. He sits next to me. Dean wraps his arm around me a minute later. I feel safe in his embrace.

"How hard is this for you, Dean?" I ask.

"Very. Does the screaming remind you of what happened?"

"You remember that I don't like it?"

"Well whenever Sam and I fight, you leave the room unless it's the Impala." I shrug.

"It reminds me of that and the night Dad died." I take a deep breath. "When Cas took me to see where dad was tortured by those demons and I just kept getting flashback after flashback the longer I stayed in there. I heard my dad get tortured. It was not pretty. I miss him so much." I pause to better control my emotions. "Then it reminds me of, well the thing Chuck started saying when we first met him."

"About your mom being kidnapped?"

I tense and nod. "She and I and my brother were in the house alone because dad was working graveyard and it was around ten or so and it was a Thursday night. Someone broke into the house. I heard my mom scream once and I heard glass breaking." My voice cracks. I sit up. "I peeked out of my door and look downstairs with my brother and she's unconscious and the person that broke into the house picks her up and takes her away.

"I know it doesn't sound as bad as it could be but she had a terrible track record. She left me when I was five then reentered when I was ten with my brother that she always talked badly about. She stayed for a few months then left. She came back when I was twelve, got pissy when I would go stay with her for a weekend stopped talking to me and my brother who was living with me at the time. She stopped till I turned fourteen and she was staying with us.

"My brother was seventeen at the time. He dropped everything to help dad take care of the family. Sure dad could support us by himself for a while but my brother got a job, went to school, and took care of me when dad couldn't. I was home alone a lot when I was younger. Made me always think that that person was going to come back for me or my brother."

We sit in silence for a couple of minutes before Dean talks again. "Have you told anyone else about that?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Is that why you don't like arguing and fighting?" I nod.

"My mom and dad used to fight a lot and she knew just how to piss him off. I remember once, she made him angry while he was cooking dinner and it just escalated and I peeked around the corner and I saw my dad hovering over her with a knife in hand, threatening her with it." Fresh tears hit my eyes and fall over onto my cheeks. "There's more but that's the reason why I can't deal with confrontation and arguing and fighting." His arms wrap around me and he holds me to him.

"Do you just want to stay up here while I handle Sammy?"

"I want to be there to help you, and support you when he's not himself. I want him to be okay too. I'd do it to make him better. To make you and your brother have a relationship again that isn't full of lies or secrets."

"Thank you, Ella." He kisses the top of my head. We sit there a little bit longer, holding each other, making each other feel better. "El, let's go back inside." I get up with him. He clasps our hands together.

"I noticed you've stopped calling me girlfriend. I thought you liked that?" I tease him.

"Just in private, girlfriend." I grin and giggle. He's adorable.

* * *

This week has been hard. We've locked Sam up and he's having a fit about it. Whenever Dean goes down to check on Sam I sit at the top of the stairs every time.

"Okay. Let me out. This is not funny."

"Damn straight."

"Dean, come on. This is crazy." I try to be there for Dean. But it doesn't always work that way.

"No. Not until you dry out."

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you. Just open the door."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. It's not your fault that you lied to me over and over again. I get it now. You couldn't help it."

"I'm not some junkie."

"Really? I guess I've just imagined how strung out you've been lately." Sometimes I can't handle the fighting and I leave the stairs almost in tears. Sam is like a brother to me.

"You're actually trying to twist this into some kind of ridiculous drug intervention?"

"If it smells like a duck." Then sometimes I can't believe what Sam says, it's so aposterous.

"Dean, I'm not drinking the demon blood for kicks. I'm getting strong enough to kill Lilith." While they're arguing, I'll bake up a storm. I think Bobby kind of likes me making a bunch of sweet treats, mostly pies because I know they'll get eaten. I'm taking a pie off the window sill and I set it on the table when I hear Dean's boots on the floor. "Come back here. Dean! Let me out of here! Dean! Let me out of here! Let me out! Dean!" Sam screams. Then I hear my name. "Ella! C'mon, El. Tell him to let me out!"

I ignore him and put my hand on Dean's arm. I lead him to the table and he sits. I get him a beer and a plate and a fork. I cut a piece out of the cherry pie and put it on Dean's plate. When I had also gone to the store, I also picked up some whipped cream and I spray some of it on top of his pie. I see Bobby looking at the pie.

"You want some too?" I don't wait for his answer. I copy Dean's plate and I place it in front of him with a fork.

"I like her, Dean." Bobby tells him when he tastes my pie.

"Thanks," I say. "My grandma taught me how to bake pie. It's all in the vanilla and cinnamon." Dean smiles and keeps eating his pie.

"You not going to eat?" He asks. I shake my head. "And why not?"

"I don't eat what I bake. I barely eat what anyone bakes. Unless it's muffins. I love muffins." He smiles.

"Stop! Stop!" We all hear Sam scream. Forks clank against plates simultaneously. I grab three glasses from the cabinet and take them to Bobby as Dean follows me over. He pours two and looks at me.

"Shot, Bobby. Now." He pours it and I take it without a chaser and I wince at the burn. Whenever I take a shot or a sip of alcohol I always get a small lump in my throat, it's weird, that's why I don't drink very often.

"Never seen you take a shot El," Bobby says.

"Yeah well, tonight calls for one."

"How long is this gonna go on?" Dean asks.

"Here, let me look it up in my demon-detox manual. Oh wait. No one ever wrote one. No telling how long it'll take. Hell, or if Sam will even live through it." Dean rolls his eyes as Bobby's phone starts ringing. "Hello? Suck dirt and die, Rufus. You call me again, I'll kill you."

"What's up with Rufus?"

"He knows."

"Who's Rufus?"

"Hunter friend of Bobby's. Well by the sound of it, not so much anymore. Don't worry, it's just a lovers quarell." Bobby sneers at Dean and he chuckles. The phone rings again.

"I'm busy, you son of a bitch. This better be important." He steps out of the room after about ten seconds and keeps talking to Rufus. I turn to Dean.

"We're going to get through this, right?" He nods. Bobby comes back in a couple minutes later.

"The news. The news ain't good." He hands Dean and I newspaper articles.

"This is what Rufus called about? 'Key West sees ten species go extinct'."

"Yep. Plus Alaska. Fifteen-man fishing crew all stricken blind, cause unknown. New York, teacher goes postal, locks the door, kills exactly sixty-six kids. All this in a single day. I looked them up. There's no doubt about it. They're all seals. Breaking. Fast."

"How many are left?" I ask.

"Who knows? Can't be many. Where the hell are your angel pals?"

"You tell me."

"I'm just wondering. The apocalypse being nigh and all, is now really the right time to be having this little domestic drama of ours?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't like this any more than you do, but Sam can kill demons. He's got a shot at stopping Armageddon."

"So what? Sacrifice Sam's life, his soul, for the greater good? Is that what you're saying? Times are bad, so let's use Sam as a nuclear warhead?"

"Look, I know you two hate me for suggesting it. I hate me for suggesting it. I love that boy like a son. All I'm saying is maybe he's here right now instead of on the battlefield because we love him too much." I toss the articles onto the couch and I pick up the dishes to wash them. I'm getting upset. Sam's like a brother to me and Bobby just thinks he can cart him off and use him.

* * *

About an hour later, Cas comes up to me and asks if I give myself over to God and his angels, to swear to follow his will and his word as swiftly and obediently as I did earlier in life. I see Dean and he nods so I nod. Bobby comes into the room and we tell him what happened while he was busy.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?" We scowl at him. "I'm sorry. You prefer 'sucker'? After everything you said about them, now you trust them?"

"Come on, give us a little credit, Bobby. I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."

"Then why in the hell did you.."

"Because what other option do I have? It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?"

"I see your point." After a couple of seconds I speak up.

"You hear that?"

"Yeah, that's a little too much nothing." We head to the panic room and open the little window in the door. Sam's having a seizure.

"What if he's faking?" Dean asks.

"You really think he would?" Bobby and I ask.

"I think he'd do anything." Sam is slammed against the wall by some invisible force.

"That ain't faking." I say. I open the door and let them in.

"We're gonna have to tie him down for his own safety. Dean? You with me? Dean! Before he has another fit."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get it over with."

* * *

I fall asleep on the couch when we get Sam under control. When I wake up, Dean and Bobby aren't in the room. I get up and get a glass of water. I hear something outside and I grab the shotgun by the fridge. I hold it up as I walk toward the noise. I see Sam and I get right behind him before I cock the gun. Sam turns to me.

"Uh-uh, Sam. The only place you're going is back inside with me."

"No."

"Damn it, Sam!"

"You won't shoot me, Ella."

"Don't test me."

"You won't do it. You can't do it."

"We're trying to help you, Sam." Sam grabs the gun and points it straight at him so I can't miss.

"Then shoot." There's a pause. I can't do it when he's doing that. He takes the gun out of my hold and tries to hit me in the face with the butt of the gun but I dodge it and come up on Sam with a defense move that he taught me. He's shocked and off his game for a second but I get him on the ground and he ends up flipping me and knocking me out in the process.

"Ella?" I hear Dean call out. "El?" I turn over and cough. Damn it. Sam got away. I hit the ground and groan loudly. Damn it, damn it, damn it. "Ella?" I hear Dean's voice and it's a lot closer. I see him rush to me. He picks me up and he holds me against himself as I cough. "What the hell happened?"

"Sam got out and I was going to drag his ass back in but he knocked me out."

"Damn it. All right. Come on, we'll go inside. Let's find him."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Ella**

Dean helps me up and I rub my forehead. He moves my hand away to inspect the damage, and there might be a bruise, luckily I am a girl and I can get some make up. Oddly enough we never did go back to my apartment in Kansas to get some clothes of mine or make up or any essentials. We just bought all of it and we keep some of it here.

"How the hell did he get out?" I ask as we walk into the panic room with Bobby strolling in next to me.

"Maybe he had help. Room full of busted devil's traps," Bobby says. "Demons? Ruby?"

"That'd be my guess," I tell Bobby and Dean. "How did she even touch the door? It's damn near impossible for her."

"You think she's got the mojo?" Bobby asks.

"I didn't think so. I don't know, man," Dean finally speaks up.

"What difference does it make? How he got gone ain't as important as where he got gone to."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. At this point I hope he's with Ruby."

"Why?"

"Cause killing her's the next big item on my to-do list."

"I thought you were on call for angel duty."

"I am on call. In my car, on my way to murder the bitch without Ella."

"What the hell Dean? I'm fine. Just a little bump. No need to keep me sidelined."

"Yes there is a need. I can't have you get injured again."

"Dean I've learned in the several months that I've been doing this, that getting injured is part of the job. You can't avoid it."

"I get that Ella. But if I can prevent you from getting any more injuries, I'll take it." Dean walks up the stairs. Bobby and I exchange a glance at each other and then follow him.

"One thing."

"What?"

"Sam don't wanna be found, which means he's gonna be damn near impossible to find," Bobby reasons with Dean.

"Yeah, we'll see."

"Just stay here for the night and we will track him down then you can leave tomorrow." Dean sighs and sits on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees and his hands cover his face. I cross my arms over my chest and I lean against the door jamb near the stairs. Bobby walks away and Dean gets up off the couch and walks over to me. He pushes the hair out of my eyes and looks at my forehead.

"It's bruising, do you want some ice for that?"

I nod. "Sure. I'd like that." He walks away from me towards the kitchen. He grabs the small bottle of whiskey in the freezer and hands it to me. I unscrew the cap and take a sip, screw the cap back on then press the frozen bottle against my forehead. I thank him and we sit on the couch. "Are we going to find Sam?"

"Yes."

"Are we going to stop the apocalypse from happening?"

"Probably not." I nod and take the bottle down from my head.

"Then let's get drunk." Dean looks at me confused. "Let's get drunk, Dean. Right now, right before Lucifer pops out."

He mulls it over in his head before nodding. "All right, okay. Let's." He smiles and we share half the bottle of whiskey.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and I wake up at about five thirty in the morning after falling asleep around midnight or one in the morning. We are on the couch spooning and I'm vaguely aware of Bobby standing over us like he's caught us doing the nasty.

"Bobby?" I whisper.

"Get your asses up." Well he might as well shout it because Dean jumps behind me, waking up, and I unlink my fingers from Dean's and I cover my ears.

"Sh, Bobby. Be kind and gentle to my ears," I murmur. I sit up and he continues talking in his loud, well to Dean and I it's loud, gruff voice.

"Police found my car. Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota."

"He's switching up. Any other cars stolen in Jamestown?" Dean asks quietly behind me. He's still laying down, his hand still on my hip.

"Two. 1999 Honda Civic, blue. Nice and anonymous, like Sam likes."

"What was the other one?" I ask.

"White oh-five Escalade with custom rims. It's a neon sign."

"You're right. He'd never take that. Which is exactly what he did," Dean points out, standing up.

"You think?" Bobby asks genuinely curious.

"I know that kid. All right, I'll head in that direction. You," Dean says in my direction. "Stay here, ride the police databases with Bobby. We gotta find him quick."

"Seriously?" I stand, pissed off. "I want to come and help you Dean. Let me be useful."

"Ella, you will be useful if you just stay here and help Bobby. Please, I can't watch you or Sam get hurt."

"Dean, please let me come."

He shakes his head and brushes his thumb over my forehead then over my left cheek. "No." He kisses me briefly and he grabs the keys to the Impala. He spares me one last look as he walks toward the front door. I walk to him and I follow him outside.

"Dean?" I call out. He turns to look at me while I'm standing barefoot on the porch in yesterday's clothes, jeans and a tight-fitting tank top, my hair a mess.

"Yeah?"

"Be safe?"

"Always. I will see you soon. Just a few days." My heart sinks and I feel the disappointment fill it. I nod anyway and his returning look is meaningful and full of sorrow. "Tell you what, you can kick my ass when Sam and I get back for not taking you. Deal?"

I smile weakly. "Deal." I watch him return the weak smile and get in the car, start it, and drive away.

After about thirty seconds, I feel Bobby's arm fall onto my shoulders and I hear his soft, gruff voice say, "he'll be back in a few days. It's his place to get his brother and bring him back. And if your really supposed to be with them idjits, then your little angel buddy'll take you there." I nod. "C'mon. Let's go inside. Maybe you can make some of that great cherry pie you make so well."

I roll my eyes but still smile. "We can't tell Dean. He'll be jealous that we didn't send him off onto the road with some." Bobby chuckles and we go into the living room and we search around the North Dakota area for missing cars and trucks. Checking out Sam's GPS on his phone if he hasn't tossed it by now.

* * *

Later that day, it was getting dark and we called Dean when we found a lead that sticks. "Cops found the Escalade in a ditch outside Elk River," Bobby says as soon as Dean answers the phone.

"How far away am I?"

"A couple of hours," I tell him.

"I pulled up a weather map, made some calls. There's a town not far from there, Cold Spring," Bobby informs.

"Lighting up with demon signs."

"A good place to look."

"Hey, listen," Bobby starts. "Ella's gotta tell you something."

"What?" Bobby leaves giving Dean and I some privacy.

"Us finding Sam?" I start. "It's gotta be about getting him back, not pushing him away," I say gently, not to piss Dean off.

"Right."

"I know you're mad, Dean. I understand. You got a right to be, but I'm just saying. Be good to him anyway. You gotta get through to him." I hear him sigh then hang up. "All right, good talk." I say to the empty room and the phone that is now silent.

"He hang up?" Bobby asks, wandering back into the room. I nod. "He'll be back soon."

* * *

A couple of days go by and nothing. Not till eleven in the morning on the third day. I hear the rumble of the Impala's engine and I just stay at the sink, washing dishes while noodles boil on the stove top. I ignore it all completely because he hasn't called once or picked up the one call I dialled. Sure when it was Bobby he'd pick up but not me. I understand that it's Bobby and Bobby might have information that is useful, but what if I do too. I did leave a voice mail when I called and I did say call me back. He just never did.

I hear the Impala's engine die down and I hear the car door shut, but only one of them. Is Dean alone? I refrain from looking, instead drying the dish I just washed and I put it away. I wash another dish as I hear Dean's boots on the porch. As I dry the dish I just washed, the door opens and I still don't turn around. I reach up to put the dish away. When my feet are flat on the ground again, I feel arms around my waist and Dean's face nuzzled into my neck. He inhales deeply and relaxes against me.

I turn the water off in the sink and dry my hands. I wrap my arms around his and I hold him. Sam must be worse off than we thought. First off, he would never hit a girl let alone me, and second if Dean couldn't bring him back from the edge, who knows what can.

"You couldn't get through to him, could you?" I ask. He lets me go and I turn around to face him.

"No, Ella. I couldn't."

I wrap my arms around his shoulder and bring him in for a hug. He reciprocates and sighs. I don't speak, I just hold him.

* * *

A few hours later Dean was brooding against the window sill with Bobby trying to get his attention.

"Dean? Dean! You listen to a word I said?"

"Yeah, I heard you. I'm not calling him."

"Don't make me get my gun, boy." Dean turns to face him.

"We are damn near kickoff for Armageddon, don't you think we got bigger fish at the moment?" Dean asks.

"I know you're pissed. And I'm not making apologies for what he's done, but he's your..."

"Blood? He's my blood, is that what you were gonna say?"

"He's your brother. And he's drowning."

"Bobby, I tried to help him, I did. Look what happened."

"So try again."

"It's too late."

"There's no such thing."

"No, damnit! No. I gotta face the facts. Sam never wanted part of this family. He hated this life growing up. Ran away to Stanford first chance he got. Now it's like déjà vu all over again." He sits on the couch and he catches my eye. I see the sadness in them. "Well, I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him, he can do what he wants."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes I do, Bobby. Sam's gone. He's gone. I'm not even sure if he's still my brother anymore. If he ever was."

Bobby turns and leans on the table, fuming. After a moment he makes a big angry sweep with his hands, tossing books and papers to the ground. He advances on Dean, who stands. I let them sort it out like two big kids.

"You stupid, stupid son of a bitch! Well, boo hoo, I am so sorry your feelings are hurt, princess! Are you under the impression that family's supposed to make you feel good?! Make you an apple pie, maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!"

"I told him, 'you walk out that door, don't come back' and he walked out anyway! That was his choice!

"You sound like a whiny brat. No, you sound like your dad. Well, let me tell you something. Your dad was a coward."

"My dad was a lot of things, Bobby, but a coward?"

"He'd rather push Sam away than reach out to him. Well, that don't strike me as brave. You are a better man than your daddy ever was. So you do both of us a favor. Don't be him." Bobby gets irritated ad he walks toward me. "You get through to him." I nod. I walk to Dean as he turns to stare out the window again. I put my hand on his shoulder and all of a sudden we are in a white room.

"Where the hell are we?" We turn and look around. There's a large couch on the other end of the room. It's covered in gold trim, it looks too fancy for comfort.

"Hello Dean, Ella." We turn to see Castiel standing behind us. "It's almost time," he tells us. Then he disappears. We look around some more. There's large paintings and a large white table and a golden fireplace. Everything is white and gold. I will never like these two colors ever again.

When we turn to look around on the other side of the room, food and beer is magically on the table. Dean and I share a worried yet curious look and he walks over, still looking around, and grabs a beer. He looks at it and then some guy, whom I've never seen before appears with Cas.

"Hello Dean," the man next to Cas says completely disregarding me. Dean looks up and masks his surprise. "You're looking fit."

Dean scoffs. "Huh, how bout this. Sweet life of Zach and Cas." Oh, his name is Zach, well his nickname obviously is. Zach and Cas look confused, although when does Cas ever not look confused about something. "It's a... Never mind. So what is this? Where the hell are we?"

"Call it a green room. We're closing in on the grand finale here," Zach tells us, walking closer to us. Dean makes a move to stand move in front of me as if to protect me. "Wanna keep you safe before show time."

"Then why am I here?" I ask.

"Because Castiel, wouldn't let me take Dean here unless you came too. Because you, little miss Ella, whom everyone is smitten with. Everyone adores you, and why? I don't get it. You see, we have bigger problems here, but you just have to be right in the middle of everything. When your mother got taken away, when ever people got into fights whether it on the street or in the classroom or the work place. Every time it was about you or you were in the middle of it. Why? No one knows!"

"No need to be so rude. You know," I start walking around Dean. "I don't give a flying crap about the fact that you're some powerful angel that could kill me at any moment. So you know what?" Dean stops me from walking any further. "Do it. That way, I won't have to deal with you being rude all the time." He raises his fingers and is about to snap them and the Cas speaks up.

"Zachariah." He puts his hand down and sneers at me with a glare gracing his eyes.

He starts ignoring me and he starts talking to Dean again, who has shoved me behind him. "Try a burger," he tells Dean. "They're your favorite. From that seaside shack in Delaware. You were eleven, I think." Oh now he's nice. Dick.

"I'm not hungry."

"No? How about Ginger from season two of Gilligan's Island? You've got a thing for her don't you?" Ha, she's a redhead, and so am I. Well sort of, I have brown in my hair too.

"Tempting, but you see, I've got my own redhead right here, behind me."

"We'll throw in Mary Ann for free."

"No. No. Let's bail on the holodeck okay? I want to know what the game plan is."

"Let us worry about that. We want you focused, relaxed. Have your whore give you a massage," Zachariah says. I'm definitely offended but Dean beats me to the yelling at Zachariah part.

"Hey! She's not a whore. Don't you ever call her that again." I smile internally and put my hand on Dean's shoulder to calm him down and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. "Well, I'm about to be pissed and leaving, so start talking, Chuckles."

Zachariah sighs and starts to walk around Dean and I. We move with him, Dean keeping me behind him at all times. When he's finally all the way on the other side of us and we made the complete 180 turn, Dean pushes me back and I take that as a sign to go near Castiel. I do and the boys start talking and I start ignoring, instead making my own conversation with Cas.

"Why is he so rude?"

"He's just an intense angel. He's a very good warrior. One of the best." Cas lifts his head and looks at me with his, Jimmy's, sad blue doe eyes. I see Zachariah come toward Cas and I and I shimmy behind him. Dean looks pissed that he can't protect me. They start yelling and then when it's over they disappear and it's just Dean and I.

"Well isn't he just the brighten bulb in the store. Show off," I mutter. Dean smiles and for the first time, there's that glint in his eye that only appears when the reason he's smiling is a real one. I go to him and we sit on the couch. I sit close to him with my legs over his and my side is against the back of the couch and I'm facing Dean. I take his hand in mine and I hold it in my lap. "Dean, I know how much this is going to hurt when I say this but, regarding what you said to Bobby, about what your dad said when Sam left, maybe you should apologize. I know that brothers fight and that time fixes them, but apologies work pretty well too."

"Maybe you're right. Fine. I will." I sit up and place my free hand on the other side of his face. I turn it to face me and I kiss him.

"Good. I thought there was going to be an argument regarding that."

"I've been thinking about it since I left." I nod and move my legs. I sit up and I press my lips to his again.

* * *

About a half an hour to an hour later, Dean calls Sam, after I forced him to.

"Call him," He sighs and dials his number.

"Hey, it's me. Uh...Look, I'll just get right to it. I'm still pissed... and I owe you a serious beatdown. But... I shouldn't have said what I said. You know, I'm not Dad. We're brothers. You know, we're family. And, uh... no matter how bad it gets, that doesn't change. Sammy, I'm sorry." He hangs up right after and leans against the table, looking lost and yet relieved.

"Dean, you did good. Just because he didn't pick up doesn't mean he sent you to voice mail. Maybe his phone is dead. You did say he was with Ruby, right?"

"Yeah and that just pisses me off. He shouldn't be with her, she's bad news."

"I know and there really isn't anything you can do to stop it. It is what it is." He's getting frustrated now as am I but I can keep it cool better than he can, at least around me. "God, I wish Cas was here. You need to get out of this room."

I hear wings flutter and I see Cas behind Dean. "You asked to see me?"

I smile and say, "yeah, listen, I, uh, I-I need something."

"Anything you wish."

"I need you to take Dean to see Sam."

"Why?"

"There's something he's got to talk to him about."

"What's that?

"The B.M. I took this morning. What's it to you? Just make it snappy," Dean says butting into the conversation.

"I don't think that's wise."

"Well, I didn't ask you for your opinion."

"Have you forgotten what happened the last time you met?"

"No. That's the whole point. Listen, I'm gonna do whatever you mooks want, okay? I just need to tie up this one thing."

"Five minutes - that's all he needs."

"No."

"What do you mean, no? Are you saying that I'm trapped here? We are trapped here?"

"You can go wherever you want."

"Super. I want to go see Sam."

"Except there," Cas tells us.

"I want to take a walk with my girl."

"Fine. I'll go with you."

"Alone with her."

"No."

"You know what? Screw this noise. I'm out of here." Dean takes my hand and leads me to the door.

"Through what door? Dean and I turn to face him. When he turns back, the door has been replaced by a smooth wall. We turn back to face Cas who has disappeared.

"Damn it," I say. Dean gets upset and picks up the candle holder that was in front of the wall.

"Stay back." I nod and he starts hitting the wall with it.

"Want some help?" I ask.

"No." He moves a little to the side and I see the wall is back to it's original state. "Son of a bitch."

"Quit hurling feces like a howler monkey, would you? It's unbecoming."

"Let us out of here."

"Like I told you: too dangerous out there. Demons on the prowl."

"I've been getting my ass kicked all year. Now you're sweating my safety? You're lying. I want to see my brother."

"That's ill-advised."

"You know, I am so sick of your crap riddles and your smug, fat face. What the hell is going on, huh? Why can't I see Sam? And how am I gonna ice Lilith? With her help? She's new to the game Chuckles."

"You're not going to ice Lilith."

"What?"

"Lilith's going to break the final seal. Fait accompli at this point. Train's left the station."

"But me and Sam and Ella, we can stop... You don't want to stop it, do you?"

"Nope. Never did. The end is nigh. The apocalypse is coming, kiddo, to a theater near you."

"What was all that crap about saving seals?"

"Our grunts on the ground we couldn't just tell them the whole truth. We'd have a full-scale rebellion on our hands. I mean, think about it. Would we really let 65 seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?"

"But why?"

"Why not? The apocalypse? Poor name, bad marketing puts people off. When all it is is Ali Foreman On a slightly larger scale. And we like our chances. When our side wins and we will it's paradise on earth. Now, what's not to like about that?"

"What happens to all the people during your little pissing contest?"

"Well you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. In this case truckloads of eggs, but you get the picture. Look it happens. This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered." I look at the candle stick holder on the ground. "Uh, no, Ella. Probably shouldn't try to bash my skull in with that thing. Wouldn't end up too pleasant tick for you." I roll my eyes but think about it anyway.

"What about Sam? He won't go quietly. He'll stop Lilith."

"Sam has a part to play. A very important part. He may need a little nudging in the right direction, but I'll make sure he plays it."

"What does that mean? What are you gonna do to him?"

"Sam, Sam, Sam. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Forget about him, would you? You have larger concerns. Why do you think I'm confiding in you? You're still vital, Dean. We weren't lying about your destiny. Just omitted a few pertinent details. But nothing's changed. You are chosen. You will stop it. Just not Lilith, or the apocalypse. That's all."

"Which means?"

Zachariah gestures to a painting on the wall. "Lucifer. You're going to stop Lucifer. You're our own little Russell Crowe, complete with surely attitude. And when it's over and when you've won your rewards will be unimaginable. Peace, happiness two virgins and seventy sluts. Trust me one day, we'll look back on this and laugh."

"Tell me something. Where's God in all this?"

"God? God has left the building." Dean gets pissy again when Zachariah leaves. He starts to try to call Sam again. He makes it through only a couple calls when Cas shows up.

"You can't reach him, Dean. You're outside your coverage zone," Cas says like it's a joke.

"What are you gonna do to Sam?" Dean asks, worried.

"Nothing. He's gonna do it to himself."

"What's that supposed to mean? Oh, right, right. Got to toe the company line. Why are you here, Cas?"

"We've been through much together, you and Ella and I. And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry it ended like this."

"'Sorry'?" He punches Cas and I flinch instead of Cas. Dean flexes his hand.

"That's what you get dumbass, for punch an angel," I tell Dean, going to hold his hand in the bucket of ice that the beer is sitting in. I wack him on the back of the head for doing it too. I let him keep it there himself. He's a big boy.

"It's Armageddon, Cas. You need a bigger word than 'sorry.'" Dean says ignoring what I said but turning to look at me, as if saying thank you for the help.

"Try to understand this is long foretold. This is your..."

"Destiny? Don't give me that 'holy' crap. Destiny, God's plan. It's all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid son of a bitch! It's just a way for your bosses to keep me and Ella and to keep you in line! You know what's real? People, families that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn?"

"What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam."

"You can take your peace and shove it up your lily-white ass. 'Cause I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stephord bitch in paradise. This is simple, Cas! No more crap about being a good soldier. There is a right and there is a wrong here, and you know it." Cas looks away, with guilt gleaming in his eyes. "Look at me!" Dean grabs Cas's shoulder and turns Cas back to face him. "You know it! You were gonna help me once, weren't you? You were gonna warn me about all this, before they dragged you back to Bible camp. Help me now. Please."

"What would you have me do?"

"Get me to Sam. We can stop this before it's too late."

"I do that, we will all be hunted. We'll all be killed."

"If there is anything worth dying for this is it." Cas looks away again, this time, with shame. "You spineless," Dean starts, walking toward me. "soulless son of a bitch. What do you care about dying? You're already dead. We're done."

"Dean," Cas pleads.

"We're done." I look behind Dean.

"He's gone," I tell him. He turns to inspect and then back at me. I pull him to me and my arms are curled around his waist while he holds me in comfort. "I'm sorry," I start. "I know he was beginning to become a friend." He exhales deeply. "Have a burger. You must be hungry by now."

He nods and he picks up a burger when Cas appears again and pushes me against the wall. Before I can make a noise, his hand is over my mouth and he draws a knife out, the demon knife. My eyes widen and Cas looks into my eyes and it's clear that he doesn't want to hurt me. I look at Dean and he's stomping over here. I plead for him to not come any closer and he doesn't get it. He comes over and stands next to me. I look back at Cas and I nod for some reason and removes his hand from my mouth. I make eye contact with Dean again and his eyes widen. Cas is cutting his forearm and he takes his blood and paints an angel banishing sigil on the wall next to my head.

"Castiel!" We hear Zachariah yell from across the room. Cas keeps drawing. "Would you mind explaining just what the hell you're doing?"

Cas finishes drawing and slams his hand in the center of the sigil. In a violent flash of white light, Zachariah vanishes.

"He won't be gone long. We have to find Sam now."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. But I know who does. We have to stop him, Dean, from killing Lilith." He hands Dean the knife.

"But Lilith's gonna break the final seal."

"Lilith is the final seal. She dies, the end begins." Cas places both hands on our foreheads and suddenly we are in Chuck's living room.

"Wait. T-t-this isn't supposed to happen." There's a pause and then he speaks into the phone again. "No, lady, this is definitely supposed to happen, but I just got to call you back." He hangs up and starts to talk to us. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Sam?" Chuck hands him a piece of paper. "St. Mary's? What is that, a convent?"

"Yeah, but you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story."

"Yeah, well," Cas starts, sparing looks at Dean and I. I link mine and Dean's fingers together and Cas continues talking. "We're making it up as we go." Chuck's computer screen flickers as a great rumbling begins, accompanied by a blinding white light.

"Aw, man! Not again! No!"

"It's the archangel! I'll hold him off! I'll hold them all off! Just stop Sam you two!" He puts both hands on our foreheads and we appear in a dark hallway in St. Mary's. We look around and walk. We turn a corner and we find Sam and Ruby in a large room. Ruby sees us and smiles wickedly and slams the doors shut with her demon power thing. We unclasp our hands and run to the door.

"Sam!" Dean yells. We take turns yelling at him and for him to stop. I try and push the door open. Dean and I work at busting the door open for five minutes tops. When we do bust it open, I grab the knife out of Dean's pocket and I confront Ruby.

"You're too late."

"I don't care, bitch." I raise my hand as Sam comes to grab her. He holds her in place as I stab her in her heart. She flickers and drops to the ground. Sam lets go and turns to Dean.

"I'm sorry," he says, tears spilling out of his eyes. I look as I take the knife out of Ruby's body and the pattern is done forming.

"Sammy, let's go." Dean takes my hand and the boys clutch each others arms.

"Dean, Ella, he's coming."

There's a large flash of white light.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: So here's the start of season five! I have so many great ideas for this season! I will be skipping some episodes, but I will put summaries in the chapters as we go along just like for season four. In this one, I've condensed four episodes into one, because I was already going to skip over the one where Dean is sent to 2014 and I don't really like the second episode of the season and I didn't want to do the third episode where Dean and Cas trap Raphael. He was just going to be a jerk to Ella anyhow. I will do the fifth episode next and in that one I'll mention the sixth and seventh episodes in detail. I, personally can't wait till Ella meets Gabriel!

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Ella**

We run toward the doors and they shut just as we reach them. We try to break them open but they aren't budging. There's a high pitch noise and we cover our ears, the boys drop to their knees and then there's a large flash of the white light and then everything is gone.

I open my eyes when I hear, "Sa-Sa-Sa-Sa-Yo-Yosemite Sam." on the little TV in front of the three of us. The boys have their eyes open too and we all look around.

"What the hell?" Dean asks.

"How the hell, did we get here?" I ask.

"I don't know guys."

The the pilot starts talking over the intercom. "Folks, quick word from the flight deck. We're just passing over Ilchester, then Ellicott City, on our initial descent into Baltimore..."

"Ilchester? Weren't we just there?"

"So if you'd like to stretch your legs, now would be a good time to... Holy crap!"

The shock wave knocks the plane off the right course. People are thrown around the plane, screaming. Oxygen masks drop down. Sam, Dean, and I put them on as the white light outside grows blinding. The high-pitched noise is back. Dean and I look out the window, scared.

* * *

We rent a car and we start driving back to Chuck's. It's a newer car and I'm in the back as usual and it's midnight. God, I'm exhausted. The boys though, they start talking as I try to fall asleep in the uncomfortable back seat. I like the Impala better because I can just lie down across the back, in this one there's a little hump in the middle so I have to fall asleep sitting up.

"Dean, look..."

"Don't say anything. It's okay. We just got to keep our heads down and hash this out, all right?"

"Yeah, okay."

"All right, well, first things first—How did we end up on Soul Plane?"

"Angels, maybe? I mean, you know, beaming us out of harm's way?"

"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas."

* * *

When we get to Chuck's, the house, the next day, is a wreck. We look around and all of the sudden, Chuck comes out and hits me on the head.

"Jesus Christ, Chuck." My hand goes straight to my head. "Is that a toilet plunger?" I ask. He nods meekly and I rip it from his hands. I hit him on the head back. "Doesn't feel to good, does it?" I throw it to the side. "Nasty," I mutter. "Why go for me anyhow? I'm little, go for Sam, he's huge."

"You're little! It's exactly why I hit you!"

"Bastard," I mutter. Chuck turns to Sam.

"So you're okay?" He nods, confused. "No, I mean, I mean, my, my last vision. You went, like, full-on Vader. Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black."

"Your eyes went black?" Dean and I asked at the same time, both worried and pissed off.

"I didn't know."

"Where's Cas?" I ask.

"He's dead. Or gone. The archangel smote the crap out of him. I'm sorry."

"You're sure? I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something." I ask, getting worried.

"Oh, no. He, like, exploded." I cringe, more upset than before when Chuck hit my head with the plunger. "Like a water balloon of chunky soup." I feel my eyes well up with unshed tears. I sniffle and lean against Dean, closing my eyes. Cas can't be dead. Dean wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"You got a..." Sam starts.

"Oh, oh God." Chuck must have pulled it out. "Is that a molar? It is. Do I have a molar in my hair? This has been a really stressful day."

"Cas, you stupid bastard," I mutter, opening my eyes, a tear coming out. I actually cared about Cas. In his own stupid way he cared about the three of us.

"Stupid? He was trying to help us," Sam tells me.

"Yeah, exactly," I snap, my voice cracking slightly.

"So, what now?" Sam asks Dean.

"I don't know."

"Oh, crap," Chuck says.

"What?"

"I can feel them." Then Zachariah appears two angels are with him.

"Thought we'd find you here. Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

"You just keep your distance, asshat," I say, walking in front of Dean.

"You're upset."

"Yeah. A little. You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!" I yell at him, not caring if it pissed him or the other angels off.

"Maybe we let it happen. We didn't start anything. Right, Sammy?" Zachariah winks at Sam then turns to Dean and I. "You had a chance to stop Sam, and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was... All our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not, it's Apocalypse Now. And we're back on the same team again."

"Is that so?" I ask.

"You want to kill the devil. We want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you? Cram it with walnuts, ugly," I snap at him.

"This isn't a game, Ella," Zachariah says. "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast, before he finds his vessel."

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?"

"He is an angel. Them's the rules. And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."

"You listen to me, you two-faced douche," I start, getting really pissed off again. I stalk up to Zachariah and get into his face. "After what you did, he doesn't want jack squat from you!"

"You listen to me, girl! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did." Blood drips from my hand, damnit. "You're bleeding."

"Oh, yeah—a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up." I back away and I slap my bloody hand on an angel banishing sigil drawn behind a door.

"No!" Zachariah yells.

"Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch!" I yell into the empty room.

"This sucks ass," Chuck complains from behind me.

* * *

The next day, I wake up and Dean is behind me brush my hair out of my face. I smile and he leans down to kiss me, Sam must not be here.

"Where's Sam?"

"Out."

"So we have the room all to ourselves?" He smiles mischievously. "So, Dean, want to uh, getting dirty while getting clean?"

He kisses me and it soon turns hot and heavy. He pulls the covers back toward him and then stands up, breaking the kiss. He walks to my side and picks me up. He carries me to the bathroom and sets me down after kicking the door shut. While he strips, I turn the shower on and get it to the right temperature. I take my shirt and my panties off and climb in. Dean locks the door and then climbs in. I'm not completely wet yet, at least the outside of my body isn't. His lips connect with mine again and he turns us and pushes me into the wall.

We continue kissing till one of us can't help it. Which it's me. I can't resist the feel of Dean's hands on my body and he does hike my leg up around his waist. I just put my hands on his hips and pull him towards me. He smiles against my mouth and before he pushes in, he reaches out of the shower and picks his pants up. He takes a condom out and slides it on himself. He pushes inside of me and I sigh as the fullness and how pleasurable it is.

As I put my hands down at my sides, Dean picks them up and shoves them into the wall I'm against. I wrap my legs around his waist and he pushes it several times. The only sounds I hear are of us panting, closely to each other's faces and the slap of wet skin against wet skin and the shower in the distance. His forehead is against mine and he's dodging all of my kisses. Instead he's holding my hands up with one hand and the other is under my ass. He's trailing kisses down my throat but none on my lips.

The pleasure becomes too much for us after a few minutes and we speed up. He finally kisses me, making me sore and full of pain between my legs again and that's when I let go. I become rigid and still except for my erratic heart beat and my breathing. God, this was nice. I just hope he feels that well pleasured as well. When I open my eyes to look at him, he is. He's breathing hard, his breath on my belly as his head rests against my breasts. I smile and giggle at how happy I am in this moment. Dean looks up at me and he smiles and giggles too.

* * *

Dean loads a gun just as I walk out of the bathroom after getting dressed. He's back to his previous mood from yesterday. I'm drying my hair as Sam comes into the room.

"Hey," Dean and I say.

"Hey." Sam fishes something out of his jacket pocket and tosses it to Dean. "Here. Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Demons, either, for that matter."

"Where'd you get it?"

"I made it."

"How?" I ask. He hesitates.

"I...I learned it from Ruby." Dean puts the gun down and I sit on the bed.

"Speaking of. How you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood or what?"

"It's weird. Uh, tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever. It's like whoever...put me on that plane cleaned me right up."

"Supernatural methadone," I say under my breath but they hear me.

"Yeah, I guess. Dean,"

"Sam." Dean turns back to the gun. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything.

"Well, that's good. Because what can I even say? 'I'm sorry'? 'I screwed up'? Doesn't really do it justice, you know? Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right,"

"So why do you keep bringing it up?" Dean asks, yelling, interrupting Sam. Dean's back to irritated again, great at least he was happy for a few moment in this screwed up life. "Look, all I'm saying is, why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess. We clean it up. That's it. All right, so, say this is just any other hunt. You know? What do we do first?

"We'd, uh, figure out where the thing is."

"All right. So we just got to find the devil."

* * *

While Sam is looking through their dad's journal, Dean and I are watching TV. It's not the best show but it's what's on and it's entertaining us at the moment since it's not like we can take another shower with Sam in the room. He knows we already took one.

There's suddenly a knock at the door. Dean grabs his gun and I grab the knife on my side of the bed. Sam gets up and we are all behind him as he answers the door. The person behind the door gasps and pants.

"You okay, lady?" Sam asks.

"Sam...is it really you?" She steps closer and places her hand on his chest when he looks back at us. I snort and start laughing quietly behind Dean. "And you're so firm." I laugh even harder.

"Uh, do I know you?"

"No. But I know you. You're Sam Winchester. And you're... not what I pictured." She says, looking at Dean. "I'm Becky." She pushes past Sam and into the room. "But I don't know you," She points out.

"Ella, Dean's girlfriend."

She nods seeming to like the fact that I'm not after Sam. "Right, he told me about you. I read all about you guys. And I've even written a few..." She giggles. Oh no. "Anyway, Mr. Edlund told me where you were."

"Chuck?" I ask.

"He's got a message, but he's being watched. Angels. Nice change-up to the mythology, by the way. The demon stuff was getting kind of old."

"Right. Just, um...what's the message?" Sam asks.

"He had a vision. "The Michael sword is on earth. The angels lost it."

"The Michael sword?" Dean and I ask.

"Wow, he was right. You two do say things at the same time," Becky says.

"Becky, does he know where it is?" Sam asks.

"In a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs."

"Forty-two dogs?"

"Are... you sure you got that right?"

"It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said." Becky stands much closer to Sam and he gets uncomfortable. "I memorized every word." She touches his chest. "For you." Sam glances down at us and I smile at him. Awkward.

"Um, Becky, c—uh, can you...quit touching me?"

"No." I lean against Dean's arm and laugh while she shuts her eyes and pretty much orgasms.

* * *

A few hours later, Becky finally leaves and we hear another knock on the door. I answer and it's Bobby. I smile.

"Hey, Bobby." Bobby grins and hugs me.

"Good to see you boys and El all in one piece." Bobby hugs Sam, who's grinning, and Dean soon after.

"You weren't followed, were you?"

"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?" I laugh.

"She's funny. Made me laugh harder than I have before."

"You heard," Sam says, glaring at me."

"I heard, Romeo. El here told me." If looks could kill I'd be dead. "So... sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?"

"You better friggin' hope so." Bobby goes to the table and opens a book of his. "That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they got." Micheal looks pretty feminine to me.

"You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett."

"Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me. He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he's the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement. Did it with that sword. So if we can find it..."

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again. All right. So, where do we start?"

"Divvy up and start reading, try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense." Sam just stares at the books. "Kid? You all right?"

"No, actually. Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"Sam," Dean and I start to say.

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal."

"Sam, stop it," Dean says, getting irritated again.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free."

"You what?" Bobby is appalled.

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen. I brought this on."

"You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy. If, by some miracle, we pull this off... I want you to lose my number. You understand me?"

"Bobby," I chide. Sam just nods.

"There's an old church nearby. Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there," Sam tells us.

"Yeah. You do that." Sam leaves and it's just us.

"Bobby, he's like your son you dumbass. I get that he started this, but he didn't know. We all didn't know till then. Quit being a jackass." I grab my jacket and I slam the door shut as I walk out to find Sam. I get outside and I see Sam. "Hey, Sam!" I shout getting his attention. "You okay?" He shakes his head. "Come here," I tell him, my arms open. He bends and hugs me.

"I'm sorry, Ella. I'm sorry I started all of this. I really am."

"Sam, you didn't know, we all didn't know. Ruby was just a dumb bitch. The only thing we can hold against you is the fact that you put Ruby above your family Sam. And you knocked me unconscious with a gun. I need to kick your ass by the way."

"Ella, you are family. And I still prioritized Ruby over you. You always get through to Dean, Bobby, and I. This time, Ruby was just so far into my head and I liked it and I wanted her there and I ignored everything you were saying. I'm so sorry, Ella."

* * *

I go back to the motel when Sam is all right again and Bobby and Dean are talking again.

"I never would have guessed that your daddy was right."

"About what?"

"About your brother. What John said, you save Sam or kill him. Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him."

"Bobby."

"He ended the world, Dean. And you, Ella, and I weren't strong enough to stop him proper. That's on us. I'm just saying, your dad was right."

"Dad." Dean looks through his bag and finds a bag of cards. "It's got to be in here somewhere."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Here. I don't believe it." We stand and walk over.

"What the hell is it?"

"It's a card for my dad's lockup in upstate New York. Read it." Bobby takes it and reads it aloud.

"Castle Storage. 42 Rover Hill."

"Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs."

"So you think your dad had the Michael sword all this time?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could have meant."

"Yeah. Okay. It's good enough for me." Bobby then tries to attack me, but I noticed something off about him earlier. He never would have disregarded Sam like that. I block his move and he tries another and with Sam's training, I block most of his hits. He does push me sideways and I fall. I look up and his eyes are black. He attacks Dean. Two demons come in and one of them, the male, holds me against the wall and 'Bobby' holds Dean against the wall beside me.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, dim pain in the ass, Dean. But I never dreamed you were so V.I.P." The female demon says. She picks up Ruby's knife on the table. "I mean, you're gonna ice the devil? You? If I'd have known that, I'd have ripped your pretty, pretty face off ages ago." She turns to me. "And you, you little slut. You're leverage. I'm going to need you from time to time if I want to get my way with the world, doll face." She slides the knife down my cheek, not cutting me, but the threat is there.

"Ruby," Dean says.

"Try again. Go back further."

"Meg?"

"Hi. These are the days of miracle and wonder, Dean. Our father's among us. You know we're all dreaming again for the first time since we were human? It's heaven on earth. Or hell. We really owe your brother a fruit basket."

"My god, you like the sound of your own voice."

"But you, on the other hand, you're the only bump in the road. So every demon—every single one—is just dying for a piece of you."

"Get in line."

"Oh, I'm in the front of the line, baby. Let's ride." Meg kisses Dean, shoving her tongue in his mouth. Probably just to piss me off. I kick the male demon in his groin and he only tighten his hold. He has a disgusted look on his face. Good.

"What is that, peanut butter?" He asks after regaining his taste buds that were so rudely licked by Meg.

"You know, your surrogate daddy's still awake screaming in there. And I want him to know how it feels slicing the life out of you." Meg hands the knife to 'Bobby', who raises it to Dean's throat. Dean struggles.

"Bobby! No!" I yell at him. Hoping to snap him out of his trance. 'Bobby' looks back at Meg.

"Now!"

'Bobby' raises the knife to stab Dean.

"Bobby! No!" I yell again, this time breaking through to him. The black fades from 'Bobby's eyes. The knife comes down and Bobby flashes gold as the demon dies. Bobby just stabbed himself and he collapses.

Dean rushes toward Meg and I kick the other one in his crotch again. He get's mad but drops me, he does ram me into the wall again and I punch him in the face, which didn't do much. Sam enters and sees Bobby on the floor bleeding and Dean getting beaten while I fight, kind of.

"No!"

"Heya, Sammy. You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you."

"Meg?" Meg grins. Sam swings and misses. Meg kicks him in the crotch and knocks him to the ground while the male demon raises his fist to hit me again. And he does, in the stomach. I'm lucky he doesn't get his hands on that knife.

"It's not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?" I knock him to the ground and I grab the knife out of Bobby's abdomen and stab the demon with the knife, effectively killing him.

* * *

We get Bobby to a hospital and we get Bobby into the ER. They rush out while they still can while I wait here with Bobby.

"Just wait here," the nurse tells me.

"I can't just leave him. He's my father-in-law!" I sob trying to go after him, but the nurse holds me back.

"Just don't move. I've got questions." I give up and I sit in the chairs and cry.

* * *

I call Sam, a four to five hours later, knowing Dean is going to be driving and needs his concentration.

"Ella?"

"Sam, he's in bad shape," I cry. I'm at his bedside.

He sighs. "We are on our way back. And we've got something to tell you. A few somethings."

"Great. God, Sam. How the hell did this happen? Why wasn't Bobby protected? Y'all made me get that thing tattooed on me, but not him? What the hell?"

"Listen, Ella, I'm sorry we didn't make him get one, I guess we forgot about him. Or we thought he had one already. I don't know. Demons don't normally come after him, nothing does since he just minds his own business."

I sniff and wipe my eyes. "Sam, how much longer are you guys going to be?" I ask, my voice deeper and hoarse.

"An hour at max."

"Good." A half an hour later, Bobby wakes up. "Bobby, thank God!" I say. I throw my arms around his shoulders and I sob some more.

"Ella, it's okay. I'm alive." He reaches up and pats my back.

"Bobby, you scared me so much. How dare you do that to yourself! What the hell!" He looks down. "I'm calling in the nurse. How are you feeling?"

"Not good."

"Oh, by the way, I told them I was your daughter in law that's the only reason I was allowed in here. So technically I'm married to Dean for the time being." I just don't have my 'ring' on." I say, knowing the door is open, but I make the quotes around the word ring so he understands. A nurse walks in and a few minutes later, so does Sam and Dean. I smile. The nurse is still in the room so I make it my mission to show that Dean and I are husband and wife, even if a joke we are still dating. The nurse keeps eyeing him and I walk up to him and throw my arms around his shoulders. I hug him and whisper in his ear while he wraps his arms around me. "You and I are married, it's the only way I could get them to let me in to check up on him." He nods.

"How is he?" He asks. I shake my head.

"The doctor will be in with you soon." And when the doctor was in with us, all hell was breaking loose. Sam, Dean, and I were leaning against the window, Dean's arm wrapped around my waist holding me to him since the doctor was giving me googly eyes the entire time he was in here.

"'Unlikely to walk again?'" Bobby shouts. "Why, you snot-nosed son of a bitch! Wait till I get out of this bed!" The doctor runs away and Bobby keeps shouting. "I'll use my game leg and kick your friggin' ass! Yeah, you better run!" He looks to us. "You believe that yahoo?"

"Screw him. You'll be fine," Dean tells him.

"So, let me ask the million-dollar question. What do we do now?"

"Well... We save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, heaven or hell, we're boned."

"What if we win?" We all stare at Dean.

"I'm kind of liking the idea of us winning this time."

"I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap apocalypse. Hell, they want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it. We take 'em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to. But we do it our own damn selves."

"And how are we supposed to do all this, genius?" Dean walks over to Bobby.

"I got no idea. But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out."

"You are nine kinds of crazy, boy."

"It's been said." Dean pats Bobby on the shoulder. "Listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit." We all walk till Bobby calls Sam back.

"Sam?"

"I was awake. I know what I said back there. I just want you to know that... that _was_ the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever." I hear what Bobby says and it makes me smile.

"Thanks, Bobby."

"You're welcome. I deserve a damn medal for this, but...you're welcome."

We walk out somewhat smiling and get into the Impala.

"Oh hey, Ella," Dean starts. "Cas is alive." I stop dead in my tracks. A smile graces my lips and I lung at Dean. I wrap my arms around him and cry tears of happiness.

"Oh thank God." Dean wraps his arms around me and I smile. "Now I can sleep." I get into the back of the Impala and I fall asleep quickly, letting the boys talk and fight all they please as long as it's quiet, which is 99 percent of the time. I've woke up to one argument, that's it. And I appreciate that they don't do it while I'm awake, at least not often, and when I'm asleep that it's quiet.

* * *

A few days later, we are visiting Bobby and Sam and I are just outside the door look in on Bobby.

"What's it been, like three days now? We gotta cheer him up. Maybe Ella'll give him a back rub."

"Dean," I state. "What's that?" I ask.

"Cas carved something into our ribs. Keeps us hidden, but I went and got my ribs x-rayed. This is what it looks like." He shows Sam and I.

"Did it hurt?"

"Eh, not really." Sam's phone rings and he answers. Suddenly Cas appears after a minute of talking on the phone. "Cell phone, Cas, really? I get excited and I end up ignoring personal space and boundaries and I wrap him up in a hug.

"You are alive."

"I am." He answers. He never does hug me back. "And you need protection." He moves away from me and puts his hand on my chest, above my breasts. I feel a slight pain but other than that, I'm fine.

"Thanks."

* * *

We talk for a few hours and we find out that Cas can't heal Bobby. Dean gives Cas the amulet he wears all the time. Sam and Dean do find a case and it's pretty intense. I stay with Bobby in the hospital. When Dean gets back, Sam isn't with him. Instead he wants to skip town and now it's just Dean and I. I don't meet Ellen and Jo but I hear they're great. Then I find out that Sam and Dean faced a horseman. War to be specific. Then Dean and I go on a suicide mission with Cas and we end up going to a strip club and I get hit on and taken to a back room by one of the dancers.

Cas had volunteered me while Dean was in the bathroom. I did get an interesting lap dance and I learned some new techniques to use in bed. Going to a strip club is kind of great, you learn a lot when you're talking girl to girl. But at the beginning, she did lean down and I know the dancers and customers aren't supposed to do anything but she did bend down and her lips did graze against mine. Dean was not opposing to that but I did. It's not like I had never kissed a girl before, I did when I was in college. I was drunk, some girl was drunk, we made out, not a big deal. Though Dean did get pretty excited and we didn't go to sleep till well into the AM.

Then Dean, I guess get's sent to the future and we are married but no kids. Lucifer had taken over in five years and it was 2014, not 2009. Sam comes back to work with us after Dean's little adventure.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Ella**

I'm in the back seat of the Impala again, as always, just I'm checking out a newspaper report about a guy who was killed in a parked car but it looks like he got into a car accident with the way his head was smashed into the window, the front window. It was in some guys garage and he was looking at it cause his friend called him over.

"So, Ella, what's with this job?" Sam asks.

"Dude suffers a head-on collision in a parked car. It's worth checking out."

"Yeah, definitely, uh, but, uh, we got bigger problems, don't you think?"

"I'm sure the apocalypse'll still be there when we get back," I tell him.

"Right, yeah, but I mean, if—if the Colt is really out there somewhere," Sam starts.

"Hey, we've been looking for three weeks, we got bupkis," Dean says.

"Okay. But Dean... I mean, if we're gonna, ice the Devil,"

"This is what we're doing! Okay? End of discussion. " I watch Sam sigh. "It's just that this is our first real case, back at it together. You know, I, I think we oughta ease into it, put the training wheels back on."

"So you think I need training wheels."

"No, 'we'. 'We' need training wheels, you, Ella, and me. As a team. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Man, I really want this to be a fresh start, you know? For the both of us."

"Okay." Sam nods.

* * *

When we get to where we want to go, we head straight for the sheriff's office. I'm glad I wore slacks and a loose low-cut shirt today because I don't think the officer in charge would have let us in to see Jim, the man accused of killing his best friend Cal. We walk into his cell and I sit with Sam while Dean stands behind us.

"I was in the house when it happened, I didn't even see it," Jim tells us.

"For argument's sake, say we believe you," I tell him.

"Why would you? The cops didn't."

"Honey, we're not your typical cops," I tell him. "Please, just tell us what you saw."

"It's not what I saw, it's what I heard. Tires squealing, glass breaking. It was the car that did it."

I raise my eyebrows. "The car?"

"I mean, I heard about the curse, but, I just thought it was a load of crap."

"Curse, what do you, what do you mean, curse?"

"The car. Little Bastard."

"Li, Little Bastard? As in _the_ Little Bastard?" Dean asks, getting inside on the inside.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, uh, what's Little Bastard?" Sam asks, oblivious.

"It's James Dean's car. It's the one he was killed in," I tell him.

"Yeah, that's the one. Cal had been looking for it for years. I mean, hell, we both had. But he found it first."

"Oh, we are definitely checking this out." I smirk at Dean's love for James Dean.

* * *

Next we head over to the Impound Garage and we take a look at the car. It's still got blood on it and the front window is smashed but other than that, it was a pretty car. It's a shame that it's haunted.

"So, what, this is, like, Christine?" Sam asks.

Dean shakes his head. "Christine is fiction. This... This is real."

Sam, ever the curious brother, says, "Okay, enlighten me." I shake my head and beat Dean to the draw.

"Well after James Dean died, his mechanic bought the wreckage, and he fixed it up. And it repaid him by falling on him. And Tony McHenry was killed when it locked up on the racetrack. I mean, death follows this car around like exhaust. Nobody touches it and comes away in one piece." Sam nods at my history lesson. "Then, in nineteen-seventy, it vanished off the back of a truck. Nobody's ever seen it since. I'm telling you, man, if this—if this car is Little Bastard, I will bet you dollars to donuts it's what killed the guy," I tell Sam.

"So how do we find out?"

"Cal matched the VIN number, but the only real way to know is the engine number. Which is on the engine, yeah," I tell them.

"You want me to do it?" Dean asks.

"No. No, no, I've, I've got it." I get a piece of paper and a pencil and I crouch in front of the car. "Okay, sugar pie," I say, rubbing the front end of the car with gloves on. "I'm not going to hurt you, so please do hurt me." I pat it and go to the side with the pencil and paper. I lie down on the roller board and I roll under the car till I see the engine number engraved in the engine. The car shudders and I gasp.

"Need a flashlight?" Sam asks. I startled and I gasp again.

"God, Sam. don't scare me like that. Just go away."

"You, uh okay?"

"Don't speak. All right? In fact, don't even look at her, she might not like it," Dean says. Sometimes I wonder if he's ever talking about a car or me. I grin and I reach up and I get the engine number on the piece of paper.

"Thank you sugar pie," I say. "I knew you were a great and wonderful car." I slide out from under the car and I had Sam the pin. "Please find out who owned it. Not just the last owner, you gotta take it all the way back to nineteen-fifty-five." I smile at Sam. "I just made your whole afternoon."

"Yeah? And guess who gets to help me?"

"Wonderful. Just what I wanted to do today! Let sit outside and research. I want to get my tan on." I tell Sam, making sure I said it loud enough for Dean to hear. I look at him and he's smiling.

* * *

So Sam and I did some research on the car while Dean went out, I don't know why he did but he did. Turns out the car isn't the real Little Bastard. It's a fake. And it's a damn good fake. We do get another call in the morning from the sheriff and there's another odd death. Gun shot wound to the head, no bullet, no gun shot residue. We walk in, today I'm in a black skirt with another loose low cut blouse. Carnegie, the sheriff, seems to like my choice in clothing.

"Heard you got another weird one."

"Uh, well, it's a—it's a little strange on the surface, I admit, but, uh...you know, once you—you look at the facts..."

"William Hill died from a gunshot wound to the head. No gun, no gunpowder, no bullet, I know. I heard walking in."

"Nope. Nothing strange about that," Dean says, being sarcastic.

"Well there's gotta be a reasonable explanation. There always is."

"What's your reasonable explanation?" I ask kindly.

"Professional killer."

"Come again?" I ask.

"Well, CIA, NSA, one o' them trained assassins, like in Michael Clayton." I almost roll my eyes but refrain.

"Right," I say. "It could be believable."

"You're welcome to look around, but—but these guys don't leave fingerprints."

"Mind if we talk with the witness?"

"Be my guest. She's not making any sense! And she's not making any sense in Spanish either."

"Right." We walk out of the room and I say, "guys I don't know Spanish, just french." Dean looks at me and smirks. "You and I are going to talk later, mister."

"Are you sure I'm going to be talking?" I roll my eyes. "Consuela Alvarez?"

"Yes?"

"FBI. We show her our badges and the police officer talking with Consuela leaves after seeing them. "Now, uh, you said you saw something in the professor's house. Right? Something in the window?"

"Estaba sacando la basura. Imiré por la ventana y vi al hombre que mató al Señor Hill!" Now I'm lost.

"Uh, Señora Alvarez. Cálmese, por favor. Uh, uh, díganos lo que vio?" Sam asks with breaks between words to remember what they were.

"Nice," Dean says smirking briefly.

Sam shrugs. "Freshman Spanish."

"Era alto. Muy alto. Y llevaba el abrigo negro largo y tenía bigotes."

Sam translates and all of the sudden I feel dumb. "Okay, uh, a tall man, very tall. With a long black coat and a, a beard?" Consuela nods. "Beard."

"Y un sombrero."

"Dude was wearing a sombrero?" Dean asks.

"Uh, a hat, not a, a..."

"No, no, no, un sombrero alto."

"A tall hat?"

"Oh, like a top hat." I say.

"Un sombrero alto. Muy alto!"

"What, you mean like a, like a stovepipe hat?" I ask, gesturing to my head as if showing her a stovepipe hat.

"Sí."

"Oh yeah, like Abraham Lincoln." Consuela starts sobbing when I mention President Lincoln.

"Sí. El Presidente Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln kill Mister Hill!"

"Huh."

"S-so I go home now?"

"Uh, sí. Gracias."

"Gracias," Dean and I say at the same time.

* * *

The boys are doing some more research on their respective laptops and I am sitting with Dean looking at the laptop which is playing the video from the fake Little Bastard's fake car crash with very real consequences.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up, go back. Aaaannnnddd, pause!" He pauses on the exact moment that I want him to and I high five him. He is the best. "Whoa."

"What?" Sam asks.

Dean turns the laptop to show Sam. "It's a freeze-frame from Jim Grossman's video," I tell him.

"Am I crazy, or does that look like James Dean?" Dean asks, ending my explanation.

"That looks like James Dean."

"Exactly," Dean says setting the laptop down. "So we got Abraham Lincoln, _and_ James Dean?" I shrug. "Famous ghosts?"

"Maybe."

"Well that's just silly," I say.

But Sam counteracts my comment. "No, actually, uh, there is a ton of lore on famous ghosts. More than the, you know, not-famous kinds. I'm actually surprised we haven't run into one before."

"Yeah, but now we got two of 'em? Two extremely pissed-off ghosts?"

"Who are apparently ganking their fans."

"What do you mean?"

Reading the web page he's at, Sam says, "Professor Hill was a Civil War nut. He dug Lincoln."

The it clicks. "And Cal must've been a James Dean freak. He spent seventeen years of his life tracking down the guy's car. So you're saying we've got two super-famous, super-pissed-off ghosts killing their...super-fans?" I ask.

"That's what it looks like."

"Maybe you should pretend to be a ghost and scary off Becky. I mean, she is a super fan of yours."

"Just wait. You're going to get a super fan and then you'll be uncomfortable and you won't want to scare them off. You'll want to make sure they don't exist." I frown.

"You're on." I stick my hand out. "I'll love the attention. I'm sure they won't write fan fiction about me and my brother and touch my chest."

"Fan fiction?"

"You don't know?" He shakes his head. I turn the laptop Dean is on toward me and I search fan fiction supernatural books. The search engine comes up with lots of different links. I make Sam come over and the boys are both looking over my shoulder. "See? I recommend not reading these. Becky was giggling a lot and it looks like she was going to explode when she saw you Sam. It's got to be dirty writing."

"Have you read some?" He teases. I shake my head.

"Who do you think I am? Someone who reads about you two doing it, with each other? I'm the only one who gets to see Dean naked."

"Trust me, I wouldn't dream of seeing Dean naked. Ew. That's just gross." Sam sits down. "Anyway, back to the case."

"Okay, well, the big question is, what the hell are they doing here?" I ask. "Ghosts usually haunt the places they live. I mean, I, I get Abraham Lincoln at the White House."

"And James Dean at a race track, but...what the hell are they doing in Canton?"

A few hours later, after a trip to the store to get Dean some pie because he had to sit through mine and Sam's conversation, Sam is still working on his laptop while Dean is standing, drinking a can of soda. Sam stops typing and frowns.

"You gotta be kidding me," Sam says.

"What?" I ask. Dean and I walk over. We bend down to look at the screen. The first thing that comes out of our mouths is,

"You've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

Turns out there is a wax museum in town. Wonderful. We walk passed John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, then stop at Abraham Lincoln. Dean frowns at Gandhi.

"Dude, he's short."

"Hey. Gandhi was a great man."

"Yeah, for a Smurf." I roll my eyes at the boys. A man comes jogging down the stairs out of breath.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, this is our busiest time of the year," he says.

Dean looks around at the empty rooms. "This is busy?" He asks.

"Well, not right now, but it's early."

"It's four-thirty," Dean points out.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Uh, well, we are writing a piece for _Travel Magazine,_" I tell him.

"Yeah, on how, uh, totally non-sucky wax museums are," Dean fits in. I elbow him in his gut and smile at the shop owner.

"That's fantastic. A little press, just what we need."

"Great. Well we're interested in a few of your exhibits, specifically Abraham Lincoln and, uh, James Dean." I say.

"Two of our most popular displays."

"Oh yeah? So they bring in a lot of visitors?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, we have our regulars."

"I don't suppose that, uh, William Hill and Cal Hawkins were regulars, were they?" I offer up their names because they're dead and very relevant to this case.

"As a matter of fact, they were. Yeah, I heard what happened to them. It's tragic, just tragic. Oh, you, that's not gonna be in the article, is it?"

"No. No, no. 'Course not," I assure him.

"You know, I gotta tell you, that, that Lincoln is so lifelike, I mean, you can just imagine him moving around. You ever see anything like that?"

"Uh...no."

"No?" Dean asks.

"Well, um, is there anything you could think of that would make your museum... unusual? You know, for the article?"

"Well, I'll say. There isn't another place like us, not anywhere."

"How so?" I ask.

"Well, for one, that's Honest Abe's real hat."

My eyes widen. "It is?" I get excited. I smile and look at the hat. Lincoln is my favorite president.

"Almost like his remains." The owner and I frown.

"Uh... I guess?" The owner responds.

"You wouldn't happen to have any of James Dean's personal effects, would you?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah. Got his key chain. We got a bunch of stuff, uh, Gandhi's bifocals, FDR's iron lung. This."

"And who did that belong to?" Sam asks, curious.

"The Fonz. Seasons two through four!" The owner gives us a double thumbs-up, grinning widely.

"Wow. Yeah, that's, that's really cool... ish." Sam says.

"This? This is nothing. I've been working on a new collection of figures. Stuff that'll really wow the kids."

"The kids?"

"Yeah, Gen Y." Dean and I are confused. "Computer games, cell phones, sexting." Dean and I look at each other. We've done that before. I was at Bobby's and he was texting me while Sam was out and it was fun. "They're just fads," The owner says. "I'm gonna make wax museums hip again." The owner grins and gives his double thumbs-up again. Dean chuckles and Sam returns the thumbs-up. I turn away and I walk away. I can't stand to be in that museum anymore.

* * *

We head back to the motel and before it gets dark, Sam and Dean take me out to a clearing outside of town and they take me shooting. I haven't shot stuff in a while and I'm falling out of practice. Sam puts a new clip in the gun and shows me how to do it while Dean sets up old cans and beer bottles that we brought from the motel parking lot. The cops actually stopped me when I was picking one up and they thanked me for picking it up instead of walking passed it.

Sam lines up and shoots at a can. He shoots at three cans, knocking them all down. I shoot at three cans knocking one of them down. Dean comes over and adjusts my shoulders and I shoot two out of three, effectively emptying the clip. We go back and Dean calls Bobby while Sam gets a shotgun.

"Yeah, Abraham Lincoln and James Dean, can you believe that? ...Why so kill-crazy? Ah, maybe the apocalypse has got 'em all hot and bothered. Yeah, well, we all know whose fault that is. ...Well I'm sorry, but it's true." I hit Dean's arm and Sam frowns, then pushes the door shut, causing Dean to spin around. "I'll call you later. Bye." He hangs up.

"What's going on?"

"Did you get the trunk packed up?"

"Yeah, trunk's packed. Who was on the phone?"

"Bobby," Dean replies.

"And?"

"Nothing."

"So we're just gonna pretend I didn't hear what I just heard?"

"Pretend or don't pretend. Whatever floats your boat." What the hell got into Dean?

"This was supposed to be a fresh start, Dean."

"Well, this is about as fresh as it gets. Now are we going or not?" Dean walks out the door quickly.

"Sam, I'm so sorry about Dean. He's being very rude. I had no idea he was going to say that. Right when he walked he he dialed Bobby's number. If you want I can go punch him in the face."

"No." Sam's hurt and I can't do anything about it. "Let's just," He takes a deep breath. "Let's just forget about it till after the case. In fact, I might start fighting with him. Can you stay here? I don't want to ask this of you because you're a huge help and you're great, I just know that you hate fighting."

"Of course Sam. No worries. You're fine. Go save the world." I pat him on the back and I go to the bathroom. I brush my hair and I turn the nozzle for the bathtub. I go and find a glass that's somewhat clean and wash it and I fill it up with a beer that I bought in from the Impala when we got here and I go back to the tub after grabbing a book out of my bag. The tub is full and bubbles are resting upon it. I strip and throw my clothes out of the room, closing the door. I climb into the tub and I relax.

* * *

I'm sure I fall asleep because when I start actually remembering things again, I'm in bed not the tub and I feel a hand on my hip and Dean's body flush against my back. I look behind me and the sun is starting to rise. I look to the clock at the other end of the room and it's six thirty in the morning. Slowly I crawl out of bed and I'm naked, great. I'm glad Sam's still in bed asleep. I get my clothes on at the edge of the bed, facing away from the boys.

When I'm dressed, I dig through my bag and I find pants and a tee shirt with Dean's flannel to go over it. I walk out of the room with one of the spare keys as I'm slipping on the boots that the boys got me when I first popped up into their world of monsters. I walk to the doughnut shop down the street and I buy six doughnuts a couple glazed, a couple filled with cream and jelly and a couple powdered. I also grab three black coffees at the coffee stand next door and I stuff the cream packets into the bag with the doughnuts and same with the sugars and stirring sticks.

I know I shouldn't be nice to Dean after he was so rude to Sam last night, but they took a beating. I could tell on Sam. The blanket was around his waist and his shirt was off. There were bruises and scratches appearing. Dean was covered in bruises along his arm and on his chest.

As I walk in, Sam shifts in bed and I freeze. He stops and I sigh with relief and move again. I close the door and put the coffees and doughnuts down. I wash my hands in the sink and that's when Dean's arm curls back into him but stops when he doesn't feel a warm body next to him. He opens his eyes and looks around the room. I sit at the table and I pull out a doughnut. He looks at me and smiles. I look away and I'm sure he's frowning. He gets up and walks over to me.

"What's wrong?"

"You were such a d-bag to Sam yesterday." He sighs.

"Are we really going to talk about this now?"

"Yes, Dean. Get dressed. We are going for a walk." He does and I leave a note on the table telling Sam to help himself to the doughnuts and the last coffee and creamers and sugars left. Dean walks over to me and grabs his coffee, liking it black, he doesn't put anything in and he ushers me out the door.

"So, you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah, I did. How could you be so rude and talk behind your brother's back. If you do that for a second time, make sure no one else is in the room with you. You're acting like a whiny brat and frankly, I'm done with that. Grow up, Dean. I'll do some major reworking to this and I will leave. I can't stand bullies and people who are just rude to other people."

"That's the same thing."

"Strangers Dean. That's not the same thing. You need to grow up. If you don't I'm not sure where we'll be at the end of the apocalypse. I'll probably be dead while you're off saving the world again. Quit being a bully." I turn and leave him standing there.

"You say you hate fighting, but what was this?"

"This Dean? This was me telling you what's up. That we won't be where we two days ago in another two days if you keep acting like that."

"You're arguing with me now, Ella," he yells at me. "I'm not being a bully and threatening another being."

"Dean! I'm not threatening you, I'm just telling you that you need to stop blaming things on Sam because he's your brother. It's not like he knew and Ruby sure as hell stopped us from getting in and saying something. It's not his fault! Stop blaming him," I yell at him. "You blamed him, you were said some pretty rude things, you just had to talk to Bobby when I was there and Sam was there when you could have talked to either one of us about how you feel. I understand that Bobby is the closest thing you have to a dad right now but you need to come to us too. Bobby has a lot on his plate too. He is recovering."

"Ella, I can't just go to you or Sam."

"Why not?"

"Because he and I will fight and you will try to make me talk to him about my problems. I needed to talk to Bobby about it."

"You didn't have to snap at him and lie saying nothing was going on when clearly there was. And you comment, 'pretend or don't pretend, whatever floats your boat' that wasn't cool."

"Ella, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Sam, Dean. I don't want to hear it." I turn and just as I was going to start walking, Dean grabbed my shoulder and twirls me around to face him. I drop my coffee and I see his is on the ground spilled too.

"Ella, I'm so sorry. Really, I am." He leans his forehead against mine. "I just needed to confide in someone else and I didn't mean for Sam to hear it and I'll apologize to him. I promise. I just don't want you to be mad at me." His eyes close and I close my eyes too. His hands are on my cheeks and I exhale.

"Fine. Just this once. You be a bully again and it's not happening."

"Done. Deal. Yes. Si. Oui. Of course." I smile and kiss him briefly.

We walk back to the motel room hand in hand.

* * *

"Ready to blow this joint?" Dean asks, after filling me in with what happened last night while I stuck behind and grabbing his shirts.

Sam comes out of the bathroom, zipping up his toiletries bag. "Dean, didn't it strike you as strange the way Gandhi just... vanished?"

"Strange how?"

"No screaming, no big flame-out, I mean, that isn't the way ghosts usually go."

"Still, I torched, he vanished."

"Yeah, but I, also, I feel like he was... trying to take a bite out of me."

"A bite?"

"Yeah, like he was hungry. But the thing is, Gandhi, or, the real Gandhi, he was a..."

"A what?" Sam hesitates. "Spit it out."

"He was a fruitarian."

Dean laughs. "Let me get this straight. Your, uh, ultimate hero was not only a short man in diapers, but he was also a fruitarian?"

"That's not the point."

"That is good. That is, even for you, that is good."

"Look, I'm just saying, I'm not so sure this thing is over."

"It was a ghost. It was a weirdly super-charged fruitarian ghost, but it was still a ghost. Now let's go."

"So first you drag me into town, and now you're dragging me back out."

"You ain't steering this boat. Let's go, chop chop." Dean grabs my hand and my bag with his and walks towards the door.

"You know, this isn't gonna work."

"What isn't?"

"Us. You, me, Ella, together, I, I thought it could, but it can't."

"You're the one that wanted back in, chief."

"And you're the one who called me back in."

"I still think we got some trust building to do."

"How long am I gonna be on double-secret probation?"

"Till I say so."

"Look. I know what I did. What I've done. And I am trying to climb out of that hole, I am, but you're not making it any easier."

"So what am I supposed to do, just let you off the hook?"

"No. You can think whatever you want. I deserve it, and worse. Hell, you'll never punish me as much as I'm punishing myself, but the point is, if we're gonna be a team, you and I and Ella, it has to be a two-way street."

"So we just go back to the way we were before?"

"No, because we were never that way before. Before didn't work. How do you think we got here?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dean, one of the reasons I went off with Ruby... was to get away from you."

"What?"

"Sam," I scold. Low blow.

"It made me feel strong. Like I wasn't your kid brother."

"Are you saying this is my fault?"

"No, it's my fault. All I'm saying is that, if we're gonna do this, we have to do it different, we can't just fall into the same rut."

"What do you want me to do?"

"You're gonna have to let me grow up, for starters." Dean's phone rings and he answers.

"Yeah? Yeah. Yeah, okay." Dean hangs up. "I guess you were right about this not being over." He drops our stuff on the floor and still heads out anyway.

"Samuel Winchester." I say grabbing his ear lobe and I pull him down to the bed. "Goodness, do I really need to lecture both of you today? Sam that was a low blow digging into your brother like that. I understand that what he said yesterday was wrong and it hurt you but guess what, Sam. That was worse. You need to apologize. Dean was going to apologize to you about what happened yesterday but no. You fucked it all up." He's shocked that I said the F-word. I don't normally say it. "Sam after this case, you need to apologize. If you want to go your separate way, then by all means go for it, don't make Dean feel bad okay?"

I turn and I grab my bag and I lock myself in the bathroom. I need a different room away from them. Let them fight and then come back when all is calm again.

* * *

I meet Sam and Dean outside of the ME's office. It was nice to be alone for a while. Now we are going to get some lunch and head back to the motel. I think tonight, I'm going to get my own room.

"I can't believe I missed it," Sam says as I get there and he's coming out.

"Missed what?" We start walking with Sam to the Impala.

"Went back over the other two vics. There was blood loss. Major."

"Oh, well, being a gory smear will do that to you."

"No, I mean more blood loss than a car crash or a head wound should cause, almost like it..."

"Something's feeding."

"Yeah."

"Awesome."

"And then..." Sam takes out a bag of large seeds that look like they would be found in a peach or plum. "There were these."

"What are those, seeds?"

"Yeah. They were in both vics' bellies."

"I hope you washed your hands."

"They're unlike any seed I've ever seen before, Dean."

"Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any geekier."

* * *

We get back and I take the laptop away from Dean and I sit on the bed next to him and I search around. I know what they're from I just can't seem to remember. You know the feeling, and then it's starts to irritate you. I hate it.

"Bingo!" I say when I finally find what I'm looking for. "The seeds aren't from around here. In fact, they're not from any tree or plant in the country. They're from Eastern Europe. From a forest in the Balkans, which is not even there anymore. It was chopped down, like, thirty years ago. So, local legend has it that the forest was guarded by a pagan god whose name was Leshi. Um, a mischievous god, could take on infinite forms..."

"And let me guess. He liked to munch on his fans?" I chuckle.

"Yes. Could be appeased only with the blood from his worshippers. It would drain 'em, then stuff their stomachs with the seeds."

"So how's he doing it? What, he touches James Dean's keychain and then morphs into James Dean?"

"Hm. It's as good a guess as any."

"Yeah, well, whatever. How do we kill him?"

"Says here to chop off his head with an iron axe."

"All right. Let's go gank ourselves a Paris Hilton."

* * *

I stay back yet again. It's not really something I want to do and I'm staying back so I can get my own room without them arguing with me. I take my stuff after asking for another room and I leave their extra key in the motel room with a note and go to mine. I crawl into bed after a few minutes and I feel gross but I fall asleep easily.

In the morning, the sun is shining through my window and I'm cuddling with my pillow. I guess I missed Dean by my side. It's not like I slept well either. I get up and I get dressed in something different and I pack my things. I meet the boys at the car and Dean offers Sam the keys, saying he wants to take a nap. He gets in the back with me and I lean on him while he wraps his arm around me.

"You know I feel like this would be comfier if we were laying next to each other across the seat," I tell him. He smiles at me and we shift around till we get comfy, but we don't lay down.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Ella**

Being on the road while on your period is crazy uncomfortable. Sam and Dean are doing their best to keep me happy or entertained but all I want them to do is go to Bobby's, hang around for a few days and then we can leave. The first two days are the worst and my period last for four days. I don't have the crazy mood swings any more. They used to be bad when I was fifteen, but it's been ten years since then and I've had over a decade to control them. The boys are thankful.

The case that I found at the last motel was a man killed in his home. His head was ripped off and the wife saw it all. Tramatizing, and speaking of she claims it must have been a bear. I doubt it. Now that I'm with Sam and Dean traveling the country after getting literally tossed into their lives, I've learned a lot. Sure, I'm not exactly a hunter but I research like a geek and I've been learning how to defend myself. Besides, the only kinds of hunts that I've been on where I've killed something are demons and that shapeshifter, couple ghosts, and the ghoul but that's it. The hardcore things like sirens, witches, rugarus. Those kinds of things.

"Hey El," Dean says. I look up at him from my spot in the backseat. "Look, we're going past your favorite burger place. Want a burger?"

"No." I say, laying back down on my side, holding my lower stomach.

"You want to stop at the next motel?" Dean asks me after a little while.

"Please?" I can't stand the pain. My legs are numb, the nausea sucks, I've got a killer migraine. I just want a heat pad over my lower stomach and a nap.

* * *

Dean takes the next exit that has a motel for cheap and he and Sam get a room. I try my best to get out of the car and it works till I'm standing and I have to sit down on the pavement because my cramps are that bad. Sam helps me up while Dean gets our stuff. I grab my bag as soon as we are in the room and I unzip it, revealing the handy-dandy heat pad that I need and want so much.

"Want me to plug that in for you?" Sam asks. I nod as I dig around for my jammies.

"Sammy, I know this is rude of me to ask, but I really don't want to go to the bathroom and..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll turn around and go straight to the bathroom. I want to shower anyway."

I smile. "Thank you Sam." He reciprocates my smile and then walks into the bathroom with his bag. I sit on the bed and catch some breath and some strength before taking my shirt off. I try to reach around to my bra but Dean's already there taking it off for me. Such a gentleman. I slip on one of Dean's old tee-shirts that he doesn't wear anymore and then a pair of shorts. I get under the covers and I put the heat pad under with me and I close my eyes.

"It's really bad isn't it?"

"It is. I have to deal with this every single month. Imagine what child-birth is like. If I'm almost in tears and I have nausea now, it's going to be this doubled."

"Remind me to never piss you off as a pregnant woman." I smile.

"You really think I'll be able to have kids and a normal life after this?"

"Well not a normal life, but kids yes. You'll never have a normal life after this because you'll see the lights flicker and think ghost or demon. You'll smell sulfur and think demon. You'll see packaged meat in the store and think rugaru. It's never going to be normal, but you'll have kids someday." I smile and turn on my side to face him.

"Can you just hold me? Please? I want to feel cared for and loved." Loved? Where the hell did that come from? He nods anyway and moves around so he can hold me comfortably. "Can I ask a question?"

"You just did." I roll my eyes even though he can't see me, but he can sense it because he laughs at me. "Did Bobby's wife really get possessed by a demon?"

He hesitates in answering. "Yes," he says.

"How long ago?" I ask, as he runs his fingers over the heat pad.

"It was when Sammy and I were still kids. Bobby was an old friend of dad's and he used to drop us off every now and then." Then Sam comes out of the bathroom dressed, towel drying his hair.

"I'm going to get some food. Want anything?"

"Burger. And some pie," Dean says. "Want some dinner, El?"

"No. But some chocolate would be nice. Milk chocolate please." Sam nods and goes, leaving Dean and I alone again.

* * *

Dean and I are sitting in the motel room, waiting for Sam to finish getting ready, and we're watching Dr. Sexy M.D. as he walks into an elevator with one of his nurses. After a second he pushes her up against the wall and starts kissing her.

I lean toward Dean and say, "we should do that next time we're in an elevator alone together." He turns his head and smiles at me. He leans in and kisses me. It's brief because Sam walks into the room but it's a kiss.

"What are you watching?" Sam asks.

"Hospital show. Dr. Sexy, MD. I think it's based on a book."

"When did you hit menopause?" I glare at Sam. Only women get menopause, awesome.

"It's called channel surfing." Dean turns off the TV and grabs his keys. "You ready?" Dean asks.

"Are you two?" We ignore him and walk out to the car.

* * *

"One more time, the FBI is here why, exactly?"

"Might have something to do with one of your locals getting his head ripped off," Dean tells the officer.

"Bill Randolph died from a bear attack."

"How sure are you that it was a bear?"

"What else would it be?" The officer asks.

"Well, whatever it was it chased Mr. Randolph through the woods, smashed through his front door, followed him up the stairs, and killed him in his bedroom. Is that common, a bear doing all that?" I ask, the officer irritating me.

"Depends how pissed off it is, I guess. Look, the Randolph's live way up in high country. You got trout runs to make a grown man weep. And bears."

"Right. Now, what about Mrs. Randolph? The file says she saw the whole thing," Sam says.

"Yes, she did. My heart goes out to that poor woman."

"She said bear?" I ask.

"Kathy Randolph went through a hell of a trauma. She's confused."

"What did she say?" The officer is hesitant to tell us. So instead he takes us to the interrogation room.

"It must have been a bear. I mean, what else could it have been?"

"Mrs. Randolph, what do you think it was?" I ask.

"No, I, I remember clearly now. It was definitely a bear."

"We're sure it was. But see, it helps us to hear every angle. So just tell us what you thought you saw." I ask kindly.

"It's impossible, but... I could have sworn I saw... the Incredible Hulk."

"The Incredible Hulk," Sam asks, making sure that's what he heard.

"I told you it was crazy."

"Bana or Norton?" Dean asks. I almost laugh at the fact that he know all of this pop culture stuff.

"Oh, no, those movies were terrible. The TV Hulk."

"Lou Ferrigno."

"Yes."

"Spiky-hair Lou Ferrigno."

"Yes."

"Huh."

"You think I'm crazy," She points out.

"No. Uh, no, it's just... is there, uh, would there be any reason that Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk, would have a grudge against your husband?"

"No." Awesome.

* * *

We go back to the motel room when Sam offers to go look at the house. I decide to go with him. I haven't spent more than a minute away from Dean in the past few weeks. There was this one case where we discovered the anti-Christ and then he turned Cas and I into statues. Then the next case after that, Dean was turned into an old man. It was creepy and I didn't let him kiss me at all. Not until he was his normal age again. But he did almost die.

Sam and I get back to the motel after an hour of looking at the house.

"Hey." I say.

"Find anything?"

"Well, uh, we saw the house," Sam starts. "And there is a giant eight-foot-wide hole where the front door used to be. Almost like, uh..." I comment.

"A Hulk-sized hole."

"Maybe. What do you got?" I ask, sitting next to him.

"Well, it turns out that Bill Randolph had quite the temper. He's got two counts of spousal battery, bar brawls, and court-ordered anger management sessions. You might say you wouldn't like him when he's angry."

"So a hot head getting killed by TV's greatest hot head. Kinda sounds like just desserts, doesn't it?"

"It's all starting to make sense," Sam says.

"How is it starting to make sense?" Dean and I ask at the same time.

"Well, I found something else at the crime scene."

"The candy wrappers? What does that have to do with anything?" I ask, very confused.

"It's candy wrappers, Ella. Lots of them."

"Just desserts, sweet tooth, screwing with people before you kill 'em, we're dealing with the Trickster, aren't we?"

"Sure looks like it."

"What the hell is a trickster?" I ask. They ignore me.

"Good. I've wanted to gank that mother since Mystery Spot."

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Guys, answer me!" I yell at them, irritated.

They're both surprised at my outburst but Sam answers first. "A trickster is an immortal creature that plays tricks on people who in the end, they usually kill those people. They have a real sweet tooth and love chocolate and candy. They can make anything pop up out of thin air."

"All right, thank you for telling me. How do we kill it?"

"Wooden stake dipped in lambs blood to the heart." I nod and I go to the bed, wanting to curl up and go to sleep. I grab the pillow and hold it while laying against the other pillow on my side facing away from the boys. I still listen to their conversation. I find out that Dean was killed a bunch of times by this trickster person and that Sam wants to ally with him. How crazy is that?

* * *

A half hour later, I'm still laying down and the boys are sharpening wooden stakes to kill the trickster. Then the police scanner starts going off.

"Um, Dispatch? I, I got a possible 187 out here at the old paper mill on Route 6?" We all hear the radio

"Roger that. What are you looking at there, son?" Dispatch asks the cop.

"Honestly, Walt, I, I wouldn't even know how to describe what I'm seeing. Just, send everybody."

"All right, stay calm, stay by your car. Help's on the way."

"That sounds weird."

"Weird enough to be our guy."

* * *

We head to the warehouse after I take care of my feminine business. Dean pulls up and we all get out. My cramps worse than ever so I have to be careful when getting out of the car. There's no one here, which is odd. 187 means murder.

"There was a murder here, and there's no police cars. There's nobody. How's that look to you?"

"Crappy." We walk in and it's not a warehouse. It's a hospital.

"What the hell?" I ask. Two doctors pass each other saying doctor to one another. "Doctor?" I ask. Dean turns and opens the door we just came through and it's not outside. It's a janitor's closet and two people, doctors, are making out. He closes the door. A female doctor comes up and it looks like Dr. Piccolo from Dr. Sexy M.D. and she greets him saying doctor and then slaps Sam. She goes on this rant about his being a brilliant coward and she leaves. She stalks off. Dean gawks after her.

"I don't believe this."

"What?"

"That's Dr. Piccolo," I tell him.

"Who?"

"Dr. Ellen Piccolo. The sexy yet earnest doctor at," I look behind the reception desk and see Seattle Mercy Hospital written above. "At Seattle Mercy Hospital."

"Dean. Ella. What the hell are you talking about?"

"The doctor getups. The, the sexy interns. The 'seriously's. It all makes sense," Dean says.

"What makes sense? What's going on?"

"We're in Dr. Sexy, M.D." We say at the same time.

"Dude, what the hell?" Dean asks.

"I don't know."

"No, seriously, what the hell."

"I don't know."

"One theory. Any theory."

"Uh, the Trickster trapped us in TV Land," Sam offers.

"That's your theory. That's stupid," Dean says, shooting that down.

"You two are the ones who said we're on Dr. Sexy, MD."

"Yeah, but TV land isn't TV Land. I mean, there's actors and, and lights and crew members, you know. This looks real," I say.

"It can't be. Ella, how can this possibly be real?"

"I don't know." We talk Sam through the doctors that pass us and their contribution on the show.

"Oh boy."

"What?"

"It's him."

"Who?"

"It's him, it's Dr. Sexy, Sam," I tell him. He greets us and we greet him back, Dean and I are smiling, happy that we get to see Dr. Sexy.

"You want to give me one good reason why you defied my direct order to do the experimental face transplant on Mrs. Biehl?"

"One reason? Sure." Dean looks down. Dr. Sexy is wearing white tennis shoes. Dean slams him against the wall. "You're not Dr. Sexy."

"You're crazy."

"Really? Because I swore part of what makes Dr. Sexy sexy is the fact that he wears cowboy boots. Not tennis shoes."

"Yeah. You're not a fan," Sam points out.

"It's a guilty pleasure. She watches it with me."

"Call security."

"Yeah, go ahead, pal. See, we know who you are," Dean says. Everything around us freezes. The doctor morphs into a shorter man.

"You guys are getting better!" I'm guessing this is the trickster. He doesn't seem like a trickster to me."

"Get us the hell out of here," Dean demands.

"Or what? Don't say you have wooden stakes, big guy." He pushes Dean's arm down and Dean's face contorts with pain.

"Hey, don't hurt him," I order. The trickster let's him go.

"You must be Ella." I raise my eyebrow at him. "The trickster," He raises his hand so I can shake it. I grasp it and shake once before pulling my hand away. At least he somewhat has manners. "What are you doing with these idiots?"

"That's none of your business."

"That was you on the police scanner, right? This is a trick." Thankfully Sam draws the attention away from me.

"Hello? Trickster. Come on! I heard you two yahoos were in town. How could I resist? Besides, you've got a friend, a very pretty one too."

"Where the hell are we?" Dean asks getting upset again.

"Like it? It's all homemade. My own sets, my own actors... call it my own little idiot box."

"How do we get out?" I ask

"That, my friend, is the sixty-four-dollar question."

"Whatever. We just, we need to talk to you. We need your help."

"Hm, let me guess. You two muttonheads broke the world, and you want me to sweep up your mess. Why bring a sweet girl into the mess of the supernatural world."

"Please. Just five minutes. Hear us out."

"Sure. Tell you what. Survive the next twenty-four hours, we'll talk."

"Survive what?"

"The game!"

"What game?" I ask.

"You're in it."

"How do we play?" Dean asks.

"You're playing it."

"What are the rules?" Dean asks. Then the Trickster disappears. "Oh, son of a bitch." The hospital starts paging Dr. Sexy and more actors walk past. "Oh, by the way. Talking with monsters? Hell of a plan."

"Just, what do we do now?"

"You know what I'm doing? Leaving." Dr. Piccolo appears and takes another swing at Sam, who ducks.

"Lady, what the hell?"

"You are a brilliant, brilliant... "

"Yeah. A coward. You already said that. But I got news for you. I am not a doctor."

"Don't say that. You are the finest cerebrovascular neurosurgeon I have ever met, and I have met plenty. So that girl died on your table. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. Sometimes people just die."

"I have no idea what you're saying to me."

"You're afraid. You're afraid to operate again. And you're afraid to love." Dr. Piccolo leaves, sobbing.

"Yeah, we're getting out of here." Then someone comes up telling us about a surgery that his wife requires and we don't give him what he wants so he shoots Dean in the back.

"Real, it's real," Dean says in pain.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, hey! We need a doctor!" I yell helping Dean, almost sobbing.

* * *

Sam fixes him though. I stop crying and suddenly I'm in a different room. Without the boys. Where the hell am I? I look around and it's just a white room. There's carpet and a window but the blinds are down and a curtain is over it. It looks like an empty room for a new house. All of the sudden the trickster is in the room with me.

"Where the hell are Sam and Dean?" I ask immediately. I notice I'm in my normal attire again.

"In Japanese game shows, doing commercials."

"Can you let me out please?"

"Hm, let me see, nope."

"Why not?"

"Because you three are my little puppets for the next twenty hours."

"It's been four hours? I need to get back to the motel and I have feminine business to attend to. Let me go, please." Suddenly a door pops up.

"Feel free to use it. There's all kinds of stuff in there."

I'm surprised. "Thank you. Why though?"

"Because I'm sorry for shooting Dean. And I want to be on your good side when I let you three out. You're going to find out a secret, and it's huge." He disappears after that and I cautiously go use the restroom he put in. When I'm finished, I'm magically in a bathing suit and I hear Sam and Dean talking thank God. "Oh and pretend that you and Dean had sex all night instead of research. Play your part, Little Ella," The trickster says, scaring me and then disappearing. He reappears a couple of seconds later and says, "btw you look gorgeous." Yeah he said btw, freaky I know.

"Hey, uh, have you and Ella done your research yet?" Sam asks. I'm sure Dean feigns his oops look.

"Oh, yeah. All kinds of research. All night." That's when I open the door to bust he and I.

"Oh Dean..." I say in a sultry voice. "We have some more research to do," I say winking.

"Dean," Sam chastises.

"Son of a bitch," Dean says exaggerated. The crowd laughs and that's when I figure out that I'm almost nude in front of a studio audience. Shit.

Sam comes over and pulls me out of the bathroom. "Uh, I am really, really, very sorry, but, uh, we've got some work to do." He walks me over to the dresser, opens it and hands me my actual clothes from before. What the hell? He pushes me back to the bathroom and just to keep up the act I speak.

"But we did do work, in-depth." I turn to wink at Dean and he smiles at me. I go into the bathroom and quickly change. I come back out and Castiel is here, a little dirty and a little scraped up.

"Listen to me. Something is not right. This thing is much more powerful than it should be."

"What thing? The Trickster?" Dean asks.

"If it is a trickster," Cas tells us.

"What do you mean?" Dean asks again. Cas is then thrown against the wall and the door opens.

"Hello!" The trickster says excited. Applause and cheers erupt from the audience. Cas gets up, his mouth has been duct-taped shut. "Thank you. Thank you, ladies." Cas glares at him and the trickster smiles. "Hi, Castiel!" The trickster snaps his fingers and Cas is gone.

We find out that the trickster obviously has some issues with angels and demons, especially Lucifer, and he sends us to the CSI: Miami set and we have to play our parts. Sam takes the part of Horatio Caine and slides on his sunglasses, at night, like him except Horatio doesn't wear them at night. Dean makes corny jokes the entire time and it's stupid but I laugh.

We change scenery and we are at the motel again. Except Sam is no where in sight. Turns out he was the Impala the entire time. We go to a park in TV land and Dean explains that he has a theory about what the trickster is and the only clue he's giving me is that he still has some holy oil and he's going to use it to catch the trickster. I go along with it and he pours a circle on the ground and I hold the box of matches. The trickster comes and Sam is back to being human.

"Tell me one thing. Why didn't the stake kill you?" Dean asks.

"I am the Trickster," He says like it's obvious.

"Or maybe you're not," I comment. I light a match and drop it on the holy oil. "Maybe you've always been an angel."

"A what? Somebody slip a mickey in your power shake, kid?"

"Don't call me kid. Ella is just fine."

"I'll tell you what," Dean says distracting the trickster, maybe angel, from me. "You just jump out of the holy fire and we'll call it our mistake." He laughs then the park turns into the warehouse we walked into. He claps.

"Well played, boys. And Ella. Well played. Where'd you get the holy oil?"

"Well, you might say we pulled it out of Sam's ass." Sam glares at Dean.

"Where'd I screw up?"

"You didn't. Nobody gets the jump on Cas like you did," I defend. "Mostly it was the way you talked about Armageddon."

"Meaning?"

"Well, call it personal experience, but nobody gets that angry unless they're talking about their own family," Dean says. "So which one are you? Grumpy, Sneezy, or Douchey?"

"Gabriel, okay? They call me Gabriel."

"Gabriel?" I ask. His face shows all of his emotions and his expression does change after I say his name. "The archangel?"

"Guilty," he speaks quietly.

"Okay, Gabriel. How does an archangel become a trickster?" Dean asks.

"My own private witness protection. I skipped out of heaven, had a face transplant, carved out my own little corner of the world. Till you two screwed it all up."

"What did Daddy say when you ran off and joined the pagans?" He asks again.

"Daddy doesn't say anything about anything."

"Then what happened? Why'd you ditch?" I ask.

"Do you blame him? I mean, his brothers are heavyweight douchenozzles," Dean says.

"Shut your cakehole. You don't know anything about my family. I love my father, my brothers. Love them. But watching them turn on each other? Tear at each other's throats? I couldn't bear it! Okay? So I left. And now it's happening all over again."

"Then help us stop it, Gabriel. Please?"

"It can't be stopped," He tells me.

"You wanna see the end of the world?" Dean asks.

"I want it to be over! I have to sit back and watch my own brothers kill each other thanks to you two! Heaven, hell, I don't care who wins, I just want it to be over."

"It doesn't have to be like that. There has to be some way to, to pull the plug," I try to reason with Gabriel. He just laughs.

"You do not know my family. What you guys call the apocalypse, I used to call Sunday dinner. That's why there's no stopping this, because this isn't about a war. It's about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other. You'd think you'd be able to relate," He says, turning to Sam and Dean.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asks.

"You sorry sons of bitches. Why do you think you two are the vessels? Think about it. Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father, and Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy's plan. You were born to this, boys. It's your destiny! It was always you! As it is in heaven, so it must be on earth. One brother has to kill the other."

"What the hell are you saying?" Dean asks, confused.

"Why do you think I've always taken such an interest in you? Because from the moment Dad flipped on the lights around here, we knew it was all gonna end with you. Always," Gabriel says.

"No. That's not gonna happen."

"I'm sorry. But it is."

"Guys. I wish this were a TV show. Easy answers, endings wrapped up in a bow...but this is real, and it's gonna end bloody for all of us. That's just how it's gotta be."

"So. Boys. Ella. Now what? We stare at each other for the rest of eternity?"

"Well, first of all, you're gonna bring Cas back from wherever you stashed him," I order.

"Oh am I?"

"Yeah. Or we're going to dunk you in some holy oil and deep-fry ourselves an archangel." He hesitates. "Now." He snaps his fingers and Cas appears. "Cas, you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine. Hello, Gabriel."

"Hey, bro. How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess. Awful."

"Okay, we're out of here. Come on, Sam. Ella."

"Uh. Okay. Guys?" Sam follows, same with Cas, but I stay behind. "So, so what? Huh?" Gabriel asks. "You're just gonna, you're gonna leave me here forever?"

"No. We're not, 'cause we don't screw with people the way you do. And for the record? This isn't about some prize-fight between your brothers or some destiny that can't be stopped. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family," I lecture. I walk over to the door and I pull the fire extinguisher from the wall and walk back over to him. I put out the flames and drop the extinguisher, pissed off that he lied and that my hormones are raging. "Don't say I never did anything for you," I snap at him. I walk back to the door and push past Dean, Sam, and Cas.

I'm quiet during the car ride back to the motel. It's eerie to Sam and Dean because Dean won't even play his music, probably too afraid that I'll stab him or something. I'm scary when I'm on my period, I hope I'm not like this when I'm pregnant.

* * *

A few hours later, it's dark and Sam and Dean are asleep. I get up and grab my wallet from my bag and I go outside in my pjs and I walk to the other side of the parking lot to the soda machine. I get what I want and movement catches my eye. I turn my head and Gabriel is leaning against the machine facing me.

"Pretty rough year for ya, huh?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because it's been a rough year for us all. You were taken from your family, then you father was killed, you've been drug all over this country, you've had to talk about that night. I wish I could have stopped it from happening, I really do. But it had to. It shapes who you are today."

"You could have stopped it? Have you been spying on me?"

"Well spying isn't the term I would use. More like your guardian. I had to watch over you the second you're mother knew she was pregnant with you. Call it my own little project. I knew from before I left heaven that you were going to be special."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Because today is July 26th." It's past midnight already? He holds out his hand and on his palm is a small, trinket size pair of golden wings. "Happy birthday." I take it from him and look at it. In reality, these wings must be at least 100 times bigger.

"Thank you. But anyone could know my birthday, how else do I know you're telling the truth?"

"I've always helped your mother dodge bad things that she could have done while pregnant with you. I was the one who always misplaced her cigarettes and when she wanted something other than tobacco, her 'guys' would mysteriously vanish and be found dead a week later. She was always wanting something that could ease her headaches so when she couldn't get drugs she turned to alcohol and all the bars would be closed because of a shortage of alcohol because someone didn't order more when needed. You would have ended up dead and I know your father wouldn't have been able to bear it."

"So you did all of that to keep me alive? Why am I so special? Cas told me that I was supposed to help Dean stop the apocalypse and a bunch of other stuff like everyone was immediately going to trust me and like me and all of them, Dean, Sam, and Bobby are going to adore me and it just sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo." Gabriel laughs.

"Well kiddo, that's all true. Everyone who meets you adores you from the second they lay eyes on you, even the enemy. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucifer didn't want to harm you. But you're more special than that."

"Seriously?"

"You're normal. That's how. Normal is good. You've got more common sense that most of us. Sure, good should trump evil but sometimes..."

"You've got to let evil win instead of the good because that's the only way someone is going to be motivated enough to fight back."

"See, common sense. You're normal and you've got more than a lot of people. Therefore, special." I nod.

"All right. Wasn't expecting any of that." I shiver and all of a sudden I have on my sweater that I left back in the room. "Thanks, but I'm going to head back. Thank you for the present and the happy birthday." I know after talk about all of this common sense talk I should have more common sense that this, but I do walk up to him and I wrap my arms around his waist. "Thanks for watching out for me." He wraps his arms around me and I pull back. I'm about to leave when he stops me.

"Here," He says, handing me a lollipop like the ones you get at the bank when you're a kid. "It's watermelon. Your favorite." I smile.

"Thanks. Again." I walk away this time successfully and I go to the room. I crawl into bed with Dean after putting my drink on the nightstand and my wallet along with the presents Gabriel gave me on my bag. I curl up next to Dean and he reciprocates and holds me against him. I fall asleep that way.


End file.
